Judge Continues Domestic Violence Hearing to Discuss Plea Offer

DC Superior Court Judge Jonathan Pittman continued a Feb. 18 hearing in a domestic violence case, so the defense can have more time to discuss a plea deal.

The defendant is charged with three felonies, including assault with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, and threat to kidnap or injure a person.

Defense attorney Henry Escoto said he has recently received the plea from the prosecution, and asked for more time to talk about it with his client.

The next hearing is scheduled for March 9. In the meantime, the defendant will remain held at DC Jail.

Defense in Sex Abuse Case Given More Time to Discuss Plea

DC Superior Court Judge Jonathan Pittman granted the defense’s request to continue a Feb. 18 hearing for a sex abuse case.

The defendant is charged with first-degree child sex abuse.

Defense attorney Matthew Davies requested the continuance, so he could discuss a plea offer with the defendant.

The next hearing is scheduled for March 16.

Prosecution Plans to Extend Plea Deal for Defendant Charged in 2 Murder Cases

A prosecutor said he plans to extend a plea deal to a murder defendant.

Melvin Simmons, 27, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in two separate cases. He is charged for allegedly shooting William Roland on Aug. 17, 2019, on the 1500 block of 18th Street, SE, and Ronald Jerome Brown, Jr. on Aug. 22, 2019, 3400 block of 18th Street, SE.

Simmons was recently appointed a new attorney, Matthew Davies. Davies agreed to consider the prosecution’s plea offer once he reviewed discovery and met with his client.

DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo schedulednthe next hearing for April 29.

Convicted Sex Abuse Defendant to Take Competency Exam from Jail

A DC Superior Court judge ordered a competency exam for a defendant on probation for misdemeanor sex abuse of a child or minor.

Defendant Phillip Drumgoole, 32, was convicted in January 2019. He has since reportedly been non-compliant with the conditions of his probation. In January 2020, a judge ordered a full competency exam. The defendant was eventually detained at DC Jail after a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

During the Feb. 17 hearing, Defense attorney Marnitta King asked Judge Jonathan Pittman to give her client one more chance to complete his mental observation exam in an outpatient setting.

King said she was concerned that the lack of psychiatric care beyond medication in the DC jail would be detrimental to her client. She also asked Judge Pittman to transfer Drumgoole to Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, DC’s psychiatric institution, for an inpatient evaluation and treatment if he was unwilling to take the outpatient route.

The prosecution said Drumgoole’s numerous bench warrants and probation violations, should not be evaluated in an outpatient setting.

The prosecutor said Drumgoole has demonstrated irresponsible behavior regarding the court case, with violations including failure to register as a sex offender and violating stay-away orders. However, the prosecutor was not opposed to transferring Drumgoole to an inpatient hospital.

Judge Pittman decided that Drumgoole should remain in jail for the exam, declining to send Drumgoole to Saint Elizabeth’s at this time.

Judge Pittman said the evaluator should make that decision after the exam is completed if inpatient mental health care is necessary.

A mental observation hearing is scheduled for March 23.

Alaina Provenza wrote this article.

Judge Presides Over Four Domestic Violence Defendants During Initial Hearings

On Feb. 17, DC Superior Court Judge Renee Raymond presided over four domestic violence cases during initial hearings.

Of these four cases, Judge Raymond held one of the defendants, releasing the rest.

The defendant the judge chose to hold is charged with simple assault. The defendant, a 33-year-old male, is also on pretrial release on a GPS monitoring device tampering charge, which he picked up in January of 2020.

The defendant will be held at the jail pending his next hearing, which is scheduled for March 9.

The three other defendants are charged with simple assault, unlawful entry onto private property, destruction of property and attempted threats to do bodily harm.

All three of those defendants were released with orders to stay away from the alleged victims, locations of the incidents or both. They were also ordered to report back to court on July 21.

Document: Arrests Made in Two Barry Farm Homicides

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested suspects in connection with two homicides: one from last month and one from 2018.

The earlier one happened on the afternoon of March 17, 2018. At around 1:44 p.m. that day, officers responded to the 3000 block of Stanton Road, SE for the report of a shooting. There, they found 22 year-old Matthew Thomas suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Delonta Stevenson, 26, has been charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with Thomas’ death.

At around 11:10 on Jan. 18 of this year, officers responded to the same block for the sound of gunshots.

There, they found three men suffering from gunshot wounds.

Two of them were treated for non-life threatening injuries. The third victim, 32 year-old Terrence Allen, died from his injuries.

One of the victims was allegedly found to be in possession of a firearm. He was arrested for carrying a pistol without a license.

On Feb. 17, Stevenson and 23 year-old Vorreze Thomas were arrested for first-degree murder while armed and assault with intent to kill in connection with this incident.

Crime Alerts: February 17-18

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out three crime alerts between 9:00 p.m. on Feb. 17 and 9:00 a.m. on Feb. 18.

The most recent alert was sent at 1:58 a.m. for a shooting on the 700 block of Chesapeake Street, SE. Police do not have a description of the suspect(s).

An alert for a robbery investigation was sent at 12:56 a.m. on the 100 block of Emerson Street, NW. Police are looking for two Hispanic males wearing all black. The first suspect is believed to be armed with a knife, and the second suspect is believed to be armed with a handgun.

The final alert was sent at 9:16 p.m. for a robbery investigation on the 200 block of M Street, SE. Police are looking for two Black males, approximately 5’8″ in height, wearing dark colored jackets and black face masks. One of the suspects was also wearing a gray hoodie.

Domestic Violence Defendant Compliant with Pretrial Release

A DC Superior Court judge found that a domestic violence defendant was being compliant with his release conditions and continued the Feb. 17 status hearing to September.

The defendant was charged with attempted threats to do bodily harm, simple assault, condition of release violation and attempted possession of a prohibited weapon on Jan. 25. At that time, a judge decided to hold him.

Less than two weeks later, the defendant was released from DC Jail into the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP).

Judge Maribeth Raffinan scheduled the next status hearing for Sept. 24.

Judge Denies Bond for 17-Year-Old Murder Defendant

On Feb. 17, a DC Superior Court judge denied a request to release a murder defendant.

Quincy Johnson, 17, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Anthony Riley on the 100 block of Walnut Street, NW. Johnson is being charged as an adult.

Johnson has been held at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) since he picked up the charge on Aug. 21, 2020.

Judge Robert Okun scheduled the next bond review hearing for March 15.

Sarah Gebrengus wrote this article.

Judge Takes Child Sex Abuse Defendant Off Home Confinement

A DC Superior Court judge lifted the home confinement order for a sex abuse defendant.

The defendant is charged with felony first-degree child sexual abuse in a domestic violence case that is currently pending indictment.

Defense attorney Roderick Thompson said his client is having trouble securing housing since his apartment is occupied by his partner, who has children, and he is ordered to stay away from children.

Thompson said the lack of stable housing, frequent need to check in with the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) before traveling to appointments and limited funds make it hard for the defendant to function under the home confinement regulations.

He said the defendant has a medical condition that requires him to go to routine appointments.

Thompson asked Judge Juliet Mckenna to reduce his client’s pretrial release conditions to GPS monitoring only.

Despite opposition from the prosecution, Judge McKenna granted the request. She emphasized that the orders to stay away from all minors and the victim are still in place.

Judge McKenna said she granted the request because of the defendant’s limited criminal history and his record of diligently abiding by the requirements of the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP).

Document: Fatal Shooting in Anacostia

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are investigating a homicide that happened on the morning of Feb. 17.

At around 5:51 a.m., officers responded to the 1500 block of Butler Street, SE for the report of a shooting.

There, they found 29 year-old Dalonte McLean inside an apartment building, suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Released Defendant is Making Progress, Judge Says

A DC Superior Court judge scheduled a second follow-up hearing for a defendant who has been compassionately released due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Nov. 17, 2014, Keith Fogle, 48 was convicted of voluntary manslaughter while armed for shooting Edward Gray. He was sentenced to serve 10-30 years in prison.

Judge Julie Becker said the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) has reported Fogle to be fully compliant with the terms of his probation and making progress in securing a job. A CSOSA representative said that Fogle has a six-month probation assessment in June to see if his GPS tracking could be removed.

Judge Becker set the next hearing for June 8 after the probation assessment to ensure Fogle is still making progress with his probation requirements.

According to court documents, on March 22, 1999, Fogle and his co-defendant, Cederick Shuler, shot multiple rounds into Gray’s vehicle without provocation. The shooting occurred on 4800 block Alabama Avenue SE.

Fogle served 16 years of his sentence before he filed for compassionate release on Oct. 19, 2020. The court granted his release on Nov. 18, 2020 deeming his medical issues as making him highly vulnerable to COVID-19.

Shuler pled guilty to second-degree murder while armed on Nov. 6, 2014, and is currently serving time in conjunction with another sentence of which he is serving 20 years.

Judge Reschedules Preliminary Hearing for Homicide Defendant

A DC Superior Court judge rescheduled a hearing to determine if a homicide case has enough evidence to go to trial.

Deshaun Gaskins, 21, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Marcus Wallace. On Nov. 21, 2020, Wallace was found on the 1400 block of L Street, SE suffering from 15 gunshot wounds.

The judge rescheduled the Feb. 16 hearing after learning that defense attorney Bernadette Armand could not be present due to a medical emergency.

The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26.

Judge Issues Warrant for Domestic Violence Defendant’s Arrest

A DC Superior Court judge issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a domestic violence defendant who lost contact with both the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) and his defense attorney.

The defendant is charged with assault on a police officer and simple assault in the domestic violence case. He is also charged with assault on a police officer and unlawful entry in another case. Both of these cases are misdemeanors that the defendant picked up last year.

The defendant did not show up to his last hearing on Jan. 11 either, but he apparently was not notified about it. Judge Maribeth Raffinan issued a judicial summons.

When the defendant did not show up to his Feb. 16 hearing, the prosecution requested a bench warrant.

Defense attorney Sean Coleman said it’s hard to ask Judge Raffinan not to issue a bench warrant but still requested that she hold off on doing so until the next hearing, which Coleman says his client “definitely” knows about.

Coleman said he is trying to find the defendant and has an investigator on the matter.

Judge Raffinan, pointing out that the defendant has received judicial notice, decided it would be appropriate to issue a bench warrant. However, she said that if Coleman can walk his client into court, they can address the situation.

The next hearing is scheduled for June 17.

Document: Vehicle of Interest Sought in Traffic Fatality

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) are investigating a traffic fatality that happened on the evening of Feb. 3 in the Congress Heights neighborhood of DC.

At around 7:58 p.m., officers responded to the 500 block of Oakwood Street, SE for the report of a pedestrian struck.

The victim, 47 year-old Troy Mason, was taken to a hospital. He succumbed to his injuries on Feb. 12.

A vehicle of interest was captured by a nearby surveillance camera.

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