Judge Holds Off Setting Jury Trial for Sex Abuse Defendant

On June 7, a DC Superior Court judge decided to hold off on scheduling a jury trial for a sexual abuse defendant.

The defendant is charged with first-degree sexual abuse, assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse, burglary, kidnapping and robbery.

Judge Juilet McKenna decided she would wait to set trial dates because the defendant is currently awaiting sentencing in Maryland cases. D.C. Witness could not confirm the nature of his Maryland cases.

Judge McKenna scheduled another trial readiness hearing for Jan. 18, 2022.

Mara Osterburg and AsiaDee Williams wrote this article.

Documents: Police Investigate Homicide

Metropolitan Police Department detectives are currently offering a $25,000 reward for information related to a homicide that occurred on June 7.

At approximately 9:20 p.m. police responded to the 6200 block of Banks Place, NE, due to sounds of gunshots. Police found 47-year-old Carlos Singleton and he was pronounced dead due to gunshot wounds.

Tory Lysik wrote this article.

Crime Alerts: June 7-8

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out one crime alert between 9:00 p.m. on June 7 and 9:00 a.m. on June 8.

The alert was sent at 9:45 p.m. on June 7 for a shooting investigation on the 6200 block of Banks Place, NE.

Police do not have a description of the suspect(s) thought to be involved in the incident.

Judge Holds Three Domestic Violence Defendants During Initial Hearings

During initial hearings on June 7, DC Superior Court Judge Shelly Mulkey held three out of seven domestic violence defendants.

In total, there were 27 defendants presented before the court. Seven of these cases were charged in domestic violence cases and two were charged with sex abuse cases.

Judge Mulkey held a woman who is charged with attempted threats to do bodily harm and contempt of court. The defendant began yelling and was removed from the hearing due to her behavior. The judge noted that the defendant was brought before her on May 10 and also had behavioral issues.

Since she was alleged to have violated a stay-away order in her pending domestic violence case, Judge Mulkey decided to hold the defendant pending her next hearing. She also ordered a forensic screening for the defendant.

A domestic violence defendant charged with attempted threats was also held. The defendant has one pending case and two cases for which he is on probation that all involve the same complaining witness.

Defense counsel requested that the judge not find probable cause, saying the alleged victim was apparently intoxicated at the time. Judge Mulkey did find probable cause, however, and decided to hold the defendant due to the number of cases all involving the same person.

The final defendant held is also charged with attempted threats. Defense counsel requested the judge not to find probable cause in this case, either, saying the alleged threats were made in front of the police, and they were not real threats as there was no intent behind them.

Judge Mulkey found probable cause in this case, as well. She said she found that he was likely to violate court conditions because he was on pretrial release in another pending domestic violence case at the time of his arrest.

All held defendants will return to court on June 22.

Judge Mulkey released an additional four domestic violence defendants. Their charges involve attempted second-degree cruelty to children, simple assault, destruction of property and second-degree theft.

Two of the defendants were given stay-away orders from the alleged victims, and two were given orders not to harass, assault, threaten or stalk (HATS) the alleged victims.

Finally, two sex abuse defendants were released by the judge. One of the defendants is charged with a new case involving sex abuse, and the other was brought in on two bench warrants for failing to appear at his hearings.

The domestic violence defendants will return to court on Dec. 13, and the sex abuse defendants will return to court on Sept. 9.

Judge Releases All But One Domestic Violence Defendant During Initial Hearings

On June 5, 22 defendants were brought before DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee for initial hearings.

Three domestic violence defendants are charged with simple assault. Two of them were released on their promise to return to court and given stay away orders from the alleged victims.

One defendant was also brought in on a bench warrant for failing to appear in court for a probation hearing in a closed domestic violence case. Judge Lee released the defendant in his new case but held him on the bench warrant so he could be brought before the calendar judge.

The defendants’ next hearings are scheduled for Dec. 10 for all new cases while the held defendant was scheduled to be seen on June 8 for his probation hearing.

This Post Marks a Rebirth for D.C. Witness

For the past six years we have worked to bring unprecedented transparency to the D.C. criminal justice system through a new model of criminal justice reporting. We have covered every homicide from act to resolution and gathered, verified and enhanced public data and told every story.

We have truly appreciated your support but were always plagued by “if only.” For us, “if only” meant if only D.C. Witness users could see the depth of our data. If only our website was not so clunky, if only we could bring even more clarity to the work we do and serve our audience to the extent we believe we are able.

Thanks to the incredibly generous support of the Google News Initiative and the Knight Foundation, this post signals the launch of our new website, the new database behind it and the evolution of our model for criminal justice transparency. Working with the incredible team at MindShift, we have taken all our ideas and will now bring them to you.

Our new site has

A totally redesigned interface – so you can more easily see the different reporting we do.
A better map with more data and information
A timeline so you can track the course of individual data
A data playground where you can dive deeper into our more than 200,000 data points
A new mobile site that is more navigable.

Over the next few months we will be fine tuning these features and adding more, like push notifications for new information on specific cases. Please let us know what you like and don’t about the new features so we can continue to improve.

As local and federal governments scramble to respond to the cries for criminal justice reform, they conveniently leave out the most important part – how are they going to be accountable? We have always believed accountability comes through transparency and you can’t fix what you can’t count.

We are here to do the counting, so you have the information to call to account our elected officials and civic agencies.

Cheers
Amos Gelb
Publisher

Judge Schedules Trial for Man Accused of Shooting of 11-Year-Old Boy

A DC Superior Court judge scheduled a man accused of shooting an 11-year-old boy to go before a jury in December.

Tony McClam is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the death of Karon Brown on July 18, 2019, on the 2700 block of Naylor Road, SE.

McClam, 31, is also charged with possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with intent to kill while armed and carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business in this case.

Judge Juliet McKenna scheduled jury selection to take place on Nov. 29 and 30. The trial is set to begin on Dec. 6 and end on Dec. 20.

Judge McKenna also scheduled a motion hearing for Oct. 4.

Carlin Fisher and Lizzie Brennan wrote this article.

Domestic Violence Defendant Plans to Accept Prosecution’s Plea Deal

On June 7, the defense attorney in a domestic violence case reported that his client plans to accept the prosecution’s plea deal.

Back in March, the defendant was indicted on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with significant bodily injury, threat to kidnap or injure a person and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Judge Juliet McKenna scheduled the defendant’s next hearing for June 29, at which time he is expected to plead guilty.

Lizzie Brennan and Carlin Fisher wrote this article.

80 Homicides Happened in First 5 Months of 2021, Data Shows

There were 80 homicides in DC from the beginning of this year through the end of May, according to D.C. Witness data.

As of June 1, 2020, a year with more homicides than any of the four years before it, there were 73.

Eighty percent of the 2021 victims were shot. Twelve-and-a-half percent were stabbed.

Some homicide victims have more than one cause of death. Two victims died in vehicle-related homicides, three died of trauma, two died from assaults and one was strangled.

The cause of death of the youngest victim, two-month-old Kyon Jones, remains unknown. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out a missing persons alert for the infant on May 7. At around 1:10 p.m. that day, officers responded to the 1500 block of Benning Road, NE, for a welfare check, according to a press release. His mother, 37-year-old Ladonia Boggs, reportedly did not know where her son was. The child has yet to be found.

On May 14, Boggs was arrested for felony murder. However, on the day of her initial hearing, she ultimately ended up only being charged with tampering with evidence.

Boggs is currently released on her promise to return to court for her next hearing, which is scheduled for Nov. 19.

The oldest victim was 66-year-old Mohammed Anwar, who was killed on March 23 on the 1200 block of Van Street, SE, after two girls, ages 13 and 15 at the time, were quickly arrested for felony murder.

On June 4, DC Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz sentenced the 15-year-old girl to the maximum sentence allowed for felony murder in juvenile cases. She will be held under the supervision of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) until she is 21.

The 13-year-old girl is expected to be sentenced in July for second-degree murder.

The average age of the victims was 31.

Anwar and Jones are among 70 of the male victims. Ten victims were female.

April had 20 homicides – more than any other month in 2021, but not by much. January had 18 homicides, February and May had 15 and March had 12.

The number of homicides decreased about 16.6 percent from January to February, decreased 20 percent from February to March, increased about 66.6. percent from March to April and decreased 25 percent from April to May.

Congress Heights had 14 homicides – more than any other neighborhood. Randle Heights and Old City each had eight.

Andrea Keckley wrote this article.

Crime Alerts: June 6-7

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out one crime alert between 9:00 p.m. on June 6 and 9:00 a.m. on June 7.

The alert was sent at 2:51 a.m. for a shooting at the intersection of 59th and Dix Street, NE.

Police do not have a description of the suspect(s).

Document: Homicide in Northwest, DC

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are investigating a homicide that happened on June 4.

At around 9:45 p.m. that day, officers responded to the 1900 block of 7^th Street, NW, for the sounds of gunshots, according to a press release.

There, they found a man and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds and took them to a hospital.

The man, 31-year-old Clifton Smith, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

Judge Holds Domestic Violence Defendant During Initial Hearings

During initial hearings on June 4, DC Superior Court Judge Sean Staples held one domestic violence defendant.

There were 21 defendants presented before the court, and three of these defendants had domestic violence charges filed against them.

Judge Staples held a defendant who was just brought before the court on June 3 for violation of a Civil Protection Order (CPO) and second-degree theft. In his new case, he is also charged with violation of a CPO and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle.

Judge Staples chose to hold the defendant because of his repeated alleged violations of court orders and because he is on probation for several domestic violence cases, as well. The defendant’s next hearing is scheduled for June 22.

Two additional domestic violence cases were heard. The defendants are charged with simple assault, destruction of property, unlawful entry and contempt in those cases.

Both defendants were released with orders to return to court on Dec. 10. They were also ordered to stay away from the alleged victims in each of their cases.

Judge Orders Competency Screening for Convicted Sex Abuse Defendant

A DC Superior Court judge delayed a June 4 sentencing hearing for a sex abuse case at the defense’s request.

In January 2020, Jamar Tillman was convicted in a court trial of third-degree sex abuse, assault with intent to commit third-degree sexual abuse, misdemeanor sex abuse, attempted misdemeanor sex abuse, kidnapping and robbery.

Defense attorney Jonathan Zucker requested a forensic screening to determine if his 37-year-old client is competent both to proceed to sentencing and to get standby counsel to assist him in the case.

Several competency evaluations were conducted since Tillman picked up the case, and he was found competent to stand trial in January 2020. The defense thought it was appropriate to perform another screening.

Though his counsel requested screening before a sentencing could be determined, Tillman sent handwritten letters to Judge Neal Kravitz requesting that he proceed “without any further procrastination.”

Tillman also told Judge Kravitz he has “new defensive evidence” he would like to give the court.

“We have received a number of letters from Mr. Tillman over the last 15-16 months,” Judge Kravitz said. The defendant has filed several pro se motions throughout the trajectory of his case.

The judge did not agree with Tillman’s request. Instead, Judge Kravitz scheduled a mental observation hearing for June 18. The competency evaluation will be conducted from DC Jail.

Mykala Jones and Will Lawrence wrote this article.

Homicide Defendant Pleads Guilty

A defendant charged in connection with an October homicide entered a guilty plea.

Tyrone Brown, 64, was initially charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to the shooting death of 45-year-old Orlando Miller on the 1700 Block of Lang Place, NE, on Oct. 1, 2020. During the June 4 hearing, Brown pleaded down to a charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed.

As part of the plea deal, the prosecution agreed to dismiss another felony case, in which he was charged with distribution of a controlled substance. The prosecution also agreed not to pursue sentencing enhancements.

Judge Milton Lee scheduled Brown to be sentenced on Oct. 26.

Tory Lysik and Mark Lu wrote this article.

Judge Holds One Domestic Abuse Defendant During Initial Hearings

During initial hearings on June 3, DC Superior Court Judge Sean Staples held one of five domestic violence defendants.

In total, there were 24 defendants presented for arraignments.

One of the domestic violence defendants is charged with violation of a Civil Protection Order (CPO) and unlawful entry onto private property.

The defendant is on probation in two domestic violence cases, one of them involving the same complaining witness in his new case.

Judge Staples said he finds the defendant to be a danger to the community because he has had his probation revoked in past domestic violence cases.

He will be held until his next hearing, which is scheduled for June 22.

The four remaining domestic violence defendants were all released with orders to report to the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) once a week by phone and to come back to court on Dec. 9.

The charges for these cases include CPO violation, second-degree theft, attempted threats to do bodily harm, simple assault, attempted possession of a prohibited weapon and contempt.

Three of the defendants were given stay-away orders while the last one was not because Judge Staples did not find probable cause in his case.

Search