Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are asking for the public’s help identifying and locating a person of interest in connection with a March 20 homicide.
Deonte Minor, 23, was fatally shot on the 1200 block of Southern Avenue, SE.
The person of interest was captured by a surveillance camera. His picture can be seen in the press release.
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are investigating two homicides.
At around 9:29 p.m. on May 14, officers responded to the 400 block of 2nd Street, NW for the report of a shooting. There, they found 27-year-old Leonard Turner suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
The next day, at around 4:55 p.m., officers responded to the the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE for the report of a shooting. There, they found three people with gunshot wounds. One of them, 28-year-old Lester Howard, was pronounced dead on scene. The other two were taken to a hospital. A fourth victim also sought treatment at a local hospital for a non-life threatening gunshot wound.
A suspect was arrested in connection with a missing person/homicide investigation.
At around 1:10 p.m. on May 7, officers went to the 1500 block of Benning Road, NE for a welfare check of an infant, two-month-old Kyon Jones. There, according to court documents, officers found the child’s mother, who didn’t know where the child was.
“Based upon the suspicious nature of the missing person’s disappearance, the Homicide Branch assumed investigative responsibility of the case,” the press release states. “The missing person’s remains have not been located at this time, however, based upon the information gathered during the investigation a suspect was identified and charged accordingly. Additionally, it was determined that this offense is domestic in nature.”
Ladonia Boggs, 37, was arrested on May 17.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) did not send out any crime alerts between 9:00 p.m. on May 16 and 9:00 a.m. on May 17.
Their most recent alert was sent at 3:57 p.m. on May 16 for a stabbing on the 1500 block of Benning Road, NE.
Police do not have a description of the suspect(s).
A DC Superior Court judge continued a May 12 hearing in a homicide case.
Raymond Davis, 47, is charged with second-degree murder while armed in the shooting of 39-year-old Henry Hackett on June 3, 2020, on the 2700 block of Langston Place, SE.
The prosecution said it is their understanding that the defense rejected the plea offer, but Davis needs to be present in the hearing to confirm.
Judge Judith Smith continued the hearing to Oct. 5. That date will serve as a control date for the indictment, which has yet to be filed.
A DC Superior Court judge ordered a mental observation screening for a defendant charged with murder.
Marwin Thomas, 27 is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 33-year old John Pollard on Sept. 30, 2020, on the 3200 block of Hiatt Place, NW.
The defense requested a preliminary screening of the defendant’s mental health to determine if he is competent to participate in court proceedings.
The prosecution did not have any position on the request.
Judge Jonathan Pittman granted the preliminary screening.
The mental observation hearing is scheduled for May 25.
November 2020, 28-year-old Randle Price was also arrested for first-degree murder while armed in relation to this murder. He is scheduled for a hearing on June 7.
DC Superior Court judge granted a continuance for both parties in a murder case.
Steven M. Robertson, 30, is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting 28-year-old Shanika Williams. The alleged incident occurred on July 20, 2020, on the 800 block of 19th, NE.
The defense and the prosecution both requested more time to communicate with each other and familiarize themselves with the case.
Judge Jonathan Pittman agreed to grant more time to allow both parties to be fully prepared.
A status hearing is scheduled for June 3.
DC Superior Court judge vacated a mental observation hearing in a sex abuse case.
The defendant is charged with one count of sex abuse related to an alleged attack on Sept. 4, 2020, on a footpath in Rock Creek Park between17th Street and Park Road, NW.
The defendant allegedly slapped the victim’s buttocks and walked away, only to return and restrain the victim’s wrists and grope her breasts. The victim was able to free herself and run from her attacker. She contacted the police.
Judge Jonathan Pittman was expecting a report regarding the defendant’s mental competency but, according to the defense in a previous hearing, the defendant has been deemed competent.
The defense requested a hearing to allow for the defendant to enter a plea.
The prosecution had no arguments regarding the defense’s request.
The judge granted the request, the next hearing is scheduled for June 8.
A defendant accused of fracturing his daughter’s skull pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree cruelty to children in court.
Cornell Holton, 27, is charged with first-degree felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children in the death of three-month-old Skylar Newman.
Holton called 911 on March 16, 2019, saying he found his baby unconscious in her crib. Newman was pronounced brain dead as a result of blunt force trauma and a subsequent brain bleed.
Holton later admitted that he accidentally dropped the infant and she then fell down the stairs. Although she was “screaming at the top of her lungs” and “holding her head”, Holton delayed calling 911 for ten minutes.
DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz determined that a drop from an adult’s arms and a subsequent fall down one flight of uncarpeted stairs in addition to the infant’s obvious signs of distress provided factual evidence that Holton acted in a reckless manner. The delay in medical treatment constituted a bodily risk to a child and there is a “factual basis” for the guilty plea.
The judge deferred accepting the guilty plea until sentencing. A pre-sentencing investigation is scheduled for July 27 to determine if the judge will accept the terms of the plea bargain.
This article was written by Alaina Provenza
During initial hearings on May 13, DC Superior Court Judge Shelly Mulkey held two of four domestic violence defendants.
In total, there were 23 defendants presented before the court. Three of these defendants had domestic violence cases.
Judge Mulkey held a defendant who was brought in on a bench warrant for failing to appear at a hearing to discuss his mental health in his pending case. The underlying charge in his case is simple assault.
The defendant’s presence was waived by defense counsel because he was allegedly being combative with the officers at the Central Cell Block (CCB).
Judge Mulkey decided to hold the defendant on the bench warrant and scheduled his next court date for June 10.
The judge held a defendant who was brought in on a bench warrant for violating his probation terms. In the case, the defendant was convicted of simple assault and threats to do bodily harm.
The judge decided to hold the defendant to be brought before the presiding judge on May 18.
The judge released the two remaining domestic violence defendants. One of the defendants was brought in on a bench warrant for failing to appear at his hearing. He was released with a new court date of June 15.
The second defendant is charged with violation of a Civil Protection Order (CPO). She was released with a stay-away order from a person and a location and ordered to return to court on Nov. 18.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department arrested May 13 a 34-year-olf suspect believed to be involved in a fatal shooting.
Jean Paul Kearney, 34, a resident of Northeast, DC was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed.
Around 9:19 p.m. on April 4, officers found 33 year-old Dontra Harris, a resident of Temple Hills, Md., suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died on the scene.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out three crime alerts between 9:00 p.m. on May 13 and 9:00 a.m. on May 14.
The most recent alert was sent at 7:34 a.m. for an armed robbery between D Street and 12th Street, NE. Police are looking for a 50 year-old Black male with a dark complexion, 6 feet in height, wearing black pants, a black jacket, black shoes and a medical mask. He was last seen heading east on Constitution Avenue carrying a tan purse.
An alert was sent at 12:38 a.m. for a shooting investigation on the 1400 block of Perry Place, NW. Police do not have a description of the suspect(s).
Another alert for a shooting was sent at 11:26 p.m. on the 5000 block of C Street, SE. Police are looking for a Black male wearing a green hooded sweatshirt who fled in an unknown direction.
As the DC Superior Court continues to face the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on operations, many homicide defendants await jury trials from DC Jail, where data shows some of them have been held for more than three and sometimes four years.
Aside from juvenile and reopened cases, 64 of the people who were charged with a homicide offense from the beginning of 2016 to the end of 2018 are pending trial, according to D.C. Witness data. As of April 29, when the data for this story was finalized, 49 of the defendants were being held in jail while they wait for their trials, not including one defendant who is held on other charges.
Sixteen of those 49 defendants have been there more than three years, and four have been there more than four years.
One of those defendants is 31-year-old Clinton Womack. He is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the shooting of 45-year-old Terry Crutchfield on the 1500 block of Olive Street, NE, on Dec. 6, 2016. Womack was arrested two weeks later.
On April 28, a judge scheduled Womack to have his jury trial in July of 2023. By then, he will have been detained for more than six years.
However, the court is reportedly keeping a list of the trials they have scheduled, so, when more courtrooms become available, those trials could potentially be rescheduled for an earlier date.
Former Chief Judge Robert E. Morin suspended jury trials in March due to the pandemic.
Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring authorized them to resume in April, with safety precautions in place. According to the court’s website, there are to be no more than one case for trial each day, and no more than two trials will be scheduled each week. With fewer time slots available, defendants can find themselves having to wait longer to go before a jury.
“We are scheduling first the trials of those who have been detained the longest and are balancing their rights to a fair trial by a jury of their peers with our ability to hold jury trials safely,” Chief Judge Josey-Herring said in a statement to D.C. Witness.
Also among those who have recently had trials scheduled is 31-year-old Antonio Upshaw. He and his 33-year-old co-defendant, Gabriel Brown, are charged with first-degree murder while armed in the shooting of 24-year-old Tyrone Johnson during an alleged robbery gone wrong on March 10, 2017, on the 2300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.
“Arrested over three years ago for an incident that happened over four years ago,” his attorney, Ronald Resetarits, said in a hearing last March, “I would like to lock in a trial date.”
During that hearing, a judge scheduled the co-defendants to have their trial in November 2022.
However, in some cases, including more recent ones, judges have put off scheduling jury trials in the hopes that there will be more courtroom availability by the time defendants have their next hearing.
Like many homicide defendants who have spent years in pretrial detention, Womack and Upshaw previously had trial dates set for them, but they fell through for various reasons.
“Many defendants had already been in jail awaiting trial when COVID struck, some for longer times than others, and for a range of reasons, including some whose attorneys had requested continuances,” Chief Judge Josey-Herring stated.
The Department of Corrections (DOC) has increased the amount of credit eligible detainees can receive for good time served in response to the COVID-19 Response Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, according to the website. However, this would only be relevant if a defendant was convicted and sentenced.
As of April 29, 14 of the 64 homicide defendants charged from the beginning of 2016 to the end of 2018 have been put on pretrial release. Three of them are released on their promise to return to court with orders to report to the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA). The rest of them are released under the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP).
Judges can decide whether to hold or release a defendant when they’re first brought before the court for their initial hearing. A person charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder or assault with intent to kill is treated in accordance with the pretrial release rules outlined in DC Code § 23–1321 unless the judge has reason to believe that “no one or more conditions of release will reasonably assure that the person will not flee or pose a danger to any other person or to the community” (DC Code § 23–1325).
About 73 percent of the detained defendants have jury trials scheduled, compared to 14 percent of the released defendants, as of April 29.
D.C. Witness data also does not include cases undergoing competency proceedings, because a person cannot stand trial if they are incompetent to do so.
“Jury trials are a top priority in the Superior Court and the Criminal Division leaders along with court management and external stakeholders have worked together to move trials forward,” Chief Judge Josey-Herring stated.
Sarah Gebrengus and Andrea Keckley and wrote this article. Alaina Provenza contributed to this article.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out one crime alert between 9:00 p.m. on May 12 and 9:00 a.m. on May 13.
The alert was sent at 9:01 p.m. for a shooting investigation on the 1400 block of First Street, SW.
Police do not have a description of the suspect(s).
A DC Superior Court judge sentenced a defendant to serve five years for an armed robbery that led to a fatal shooting.
On June 12, 2018, Bernard McKinney was involved in a robbery on the 300 block of 50th Street, NE, during which one of the victims, 24-year-old Daymond Chicas, was killed by an unidentified person. According to the prosecution, McKinney had more contact with the surviving victim during the robbery.
“I’m really sorry for what happened,” McKinney said during the May 11 hearing, “I wish I could go back in time and fix the whole situation.”
The defendant was 17 at the time. He was initially charged as an adult with first-degree murder while armed under the felony murder rule and later indicted on a number of firearms and robbery related charges. As part of an agreement with the prosecution, he pleaded guilty to armed robbery in exchange for all other charges being dropped.
Judge Neal Kravitz sentenced McKinney to 72 months, all but 60 of which was suspended, plus three years of probation. He agreed to sentence him under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA), which will effectively seal his case after he completes his requirements.
Judge Kravitz said McKinney’s progress led him to believe the YRA was appropriate.
Defense attorney Pierce Suen said his client used to think he wouldn’t graduate high school, but has now done so and is taking college classes. He asked Judge Kravitz to recommend, to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), to place him in a facility where some higher education is available to him. The judge agreed to do so.
The prosecutor, however, opposed Suen’s YRA request.
“This is not something new, this is an escalation,” she said, referring to McKinney’s criminal history.
The prosecutor also said the surviving victim told her he watched his friend, Chicas, die – something he will always have to live with.
But Suen said his client understands the consequences of gun violence, given its presence in the community he grew up in.
“He knows precisely what it feels like to watch someone die,” Suen said.
As part of his probation, McKinney must continue his education, complete 90 hours of community service and pay $100 to the Victims of Violent Crime (VVC) compensation fund.
Andrea Keckley wrote this article.
