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Murder Case Still Awaiting Indictment After Defense Rejects Initial Plea Offer

A DC Superior Court judge continued a May 12  hearing for a murder case that is awaiting indictment.

Javon Gunter, 19, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the shooting of 15-year-old Thomas Johnson on Dec. 9, 2019, on the 1300 block of Half Street, SW. Hunter picked up the charge in January of last year.

The defense rejected the prosecution’s initial plea offer in March. Defense attorney Ronald Resetarits said he isn’t confident the case can be resolved with a plea.

The prosecution is still working on returning an indictment, which needs to be done before parties can go to trial. There are also limits on how many trials can be scheduled a week due to pandemic restrictions.

The judge scheduled the next hearing for Sept. 3. The prosecution was not able to say if an indictment would be filed by then.

Former Youth Facility Employee Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Minor

A DC Superior Court judge sentenced a former youth facility employee for sexually abusing a minor.

Jamarl Glen, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse of a minor for a sexual relationship he had with a 16-year-old girl who was living at the youth facility where he worked.

Judge Neal Kravitz sentenced Glen to 18 months, all of which were suspended, plus 18 months of supervised probation. He’ll have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Glen apologized to the court, the victim, his family and those who supported him throughout his career during the May 11 hearing.

“Working with youth was a passion of mine. I enjoyed it from the moment I started,” he said. “I just have to put my best foot forward to repair my life.”

Glen is a college graduate who wanted to work with youth for a living. He now works in a warehouse.

Defense attorney Marnitta King said her client accepts that he can no longer have the career he hoped for, and that he takes full responsibility for his actions. 

King also pointed out that Glen doesn’t have any prior convictions and was compliant with his pretrial release.

The defendant was initially charged with first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. As part of a plea deal, the prosecution agreed to recommend a probationary sentence. 

Judge Kravitz acknowledged that Glen’s lacking criminal history, past community service and future potential speaks in his favor, but agreed with the prosecution that his abuse of authority was concerning.

As part of his probation, Glen will have to undergo a sex offender evaluation and, if necessary, treatment. He must also have no unsupervised contact with minors, undergo a mental health assessment and treatment as deemed necessary, stay away from the victim and pay $100 to the Victims of Violent Crime (VVC) compensation fund.

Judge Holds Murder Defendant During Initial Hearings

During initial hearings on May 12, DC Superior Court Judge Shelly Mulkey held a murder defendant.

There were a total of 19 defendants presented before the court. There were no domestic violence or sexual assault cases.

Darrell Moore is charged with second-degree murder while armed in the killing of 37 year-old Julius Hayes on April 3. Moore, 43, allegedly shot Hayes six times during an altercation on the 300 block of 8th Street, NE. 

Defense counsel requested that the judge to not find probable cause, saying that the main witness who identified Moore is unreliable. According to counsel, the witness claims he was at the scene of the shooting, but later could not remember what the shooter was wearing. “Seeing someone get shot would be burnt into your memory,” he said.

Judge Mulkey found probable cause in Moore’s case. She said she felt the witness’ identification of Moore was strong, and his tie to the car involved in the shooting is strong, as well.

“The evidence in this case is extremely heavy, and I do find there is a substantial probability that Mr. Moore committed the offense,” she said.

The prosecution requested Moore be held, noting an offense that he committed in 1994. Moore was convicted, by a jury, of first-degree murder while armed, among other charges, in the shooting of Denise King in Southeast, DC. 

Moore was recently released under supervised probation in August of 2020 and allegedly committed this new offense while on probation.

Counsel acknowledged the seriousness of the prior offense, but he mentioned that Moore was only 16 when the offense was committed and it was his twin brother who fired the gun all those years ago.

He asked for Moore to be released under home confinement as part of the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP), but Judge Mulkey granted the hold request, saying she believes Moore is a danger to the community.

Moore will be held at the DC Jail until his next hearing, which is scheduled for June 1.

Judge Holds 3 Domestic Violence Defendants During Presentments

During initial hearings on May 11, DC Superior Court Judge Shelly Mulkey held three out of six domestic violence defendants.

There were 23 total defendants presented before the court, and six of these defendants had domestic violence cases brought against them.

Judge Mulkey held a male defendant who is charged with contempt. The defendant also has a pending domestic violence case involving the same complaining witness.

The defendant allegedly violated the court’s two orders to stay away from the complainant. “I am extremely alarmed that you are violating two orders that require you to stay away from this person and this location,” the judge said, holding until his next hearing.

The judge held another male defendant who is charged with simple assault, attempted threats to do bodily harm and attempted possession of a prohibited weapon, which were a hammer and a screwdriver.

The defendant is on probation for two domestic violence cases involving the same victim. Judge Mulkey decided to hold the defendant, saying, “I have serious concerns for her [the victim’s] safety.”

The final defendant held is charged with simple assault. The judge said she was concerned about the allegations of assault in the case, the defendant’s history of failing to appear at his hearings and 10 issued bench warrants in past cases.

All held defendants have their next hearings scheduled for June 1.

The three released defendants have charges of simple assault, contempt, attempted threats to do bodily harm and attempted possession of a prohibited weapon.

All three defendants were given stay-away orders from the alleged victims and told to return to court on Nov. 16.

Crime Alerts: May 11-12

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out one crime alert between 9:00 p.m. on May 11 and 9:00 a.m. on May 12.

The alert was sent at 12:55 a.m. for a robbery investigation on the 3400 block of 25th Street, SE.

Police are looking for a Black male wearing black clothing.

Document: Suspect Arrested for Murder

A suspect has been arrested in connection with a homicide that happened on April 3.

At around 3:58 p.m. that day, officers responded to the 300 block of 18th Street, NE for the report of a shooting.

There, they found 37-year-old Julius Hayes suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

On May 11, 43-year-old Darrell Moore was arrested for second-degree murder while armed.

Document: Homicide in Northeast, DC

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are investigating a homicide that happened during the early hours of May 11.

At around 3:51 a.m., officers responded to the 1500 block of Maryland Avenue, NE, for the report of an unconscious person, according to a press release.

There, they found 43-year-old Kareem Elliot Watkins with an apparent stab wound. He was pronounced dead on scene.

Crime Alerts: May 10-11

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out five crime alerts between 9:00 p.m. on May 10 and 9:00 a.m. on May 11.

The most recent alert was sent at 4:24 a.m. for a shooting investigation on the 1500 block of Benning Road, NE. Police do not have a description of the suspect(s).

An alert for a stabbing investigation was sent at 12:29 a.m. on the 5000 block of H Street, SE. Police do not have a description of the suspect(s).

A shooting alert was sent at 10:30 p.m. on the 1200 block of Barnaby Terrace, SE. Police are looking for a blue sedan.

An alert was sent at 10:27 p.m. for an unspecified investigation on the 1800 block of 24th Place, SE. There is no lookout.

The final alert was sent at 9:32 p.m. for a robbery investigation on the unit block of 42nd Street, NE. Police are looking for two Black males with medium complexions, 6’0″ in height, wearing black ski masks and dark jackets. One of the suspects was wearing dark blue jeans, and the other was wearing black jeans. They were last seen operating a grey 2014 Kia Sedona with DC tags GH1723.

Murder Case Continues with Plea Discussions Following New Developments

A DC Superior Court judge continued a hearing in a homicide case to allow more time for plea discussions.

Diquan Lucas, 24, is charged with second-degree murder while armed in the  shooting of 33-year-old Brian Butler on Nov. 21, 2019, on the 2300 block of Ainger Place, SE.

During the May 11 hearing, defense attorney  Roderick Thompson said they were not currently in a position to accept or reject the prosecutors plea offer due to new developments that happened within the past 24 hours.

Those developments were not explained in detail during the proceeding.

Judge Lee Milton scheduled the next hearing for June 1.

Judge Continues Hearing for Homicide Case

A DC Superior Court judge continued a May 10 hearing to allow time for the defense to review discovery evidence.

Nathan Hunter, 39, is charged with second-degree murder while armed in the shooting of 44-year-old Ronald McKnight on April 18 on the 1600 block of 7th Street, NW. Hunter was arrested that same day.

Defense attorney Frances D’Antuono also asked Judge Jonathan Pittman to extend their subpoena power until the next hearing, which he agreed to do. 

The next hearing is scheduled for June 17.

Judge Continues Two Murder Cases Awaiting Indictment

On May 10, a DC Superior Court judge continued two 2020 murder cases that are currently pending indictments.

Khamari Perkins, 20, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the death of 18-year-old Naseem Simpson, who was shot March 15, 2020, on the 3000 block of 14th Street, NW. 

Judge Judith Smith continued his case to Aug. 30 for another scheduling hearing and to allow the prosecution to offer a plea deal.

Ch’juan Robinson, 23, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the shooting of Louis Eugene Kingsbury, 34, on April 30, 2020, on the 200 block of New York Avenue, NW.

Judge Smith also continued his case to Oct. 4 for another scheduling hearing.

Document: Woman Killed in Apparent Stabbing

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are investigating a homicide that happened during the early hours of May 10.

At around 2:08 a.m., officers responded to the 2600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE for the report of an unconscious person, according to a press release.

There, they found 47-year-old Georgette Banks in a residential building suffering from an apparent stab wound. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

My Spring Internship at D.C. Witness

As my internship is coming to an end I realize that I have learned a lot about the court system, become a better writer and feel more prepared to potentially be a witness in court if my future job required it of me. 

I also realized how long and drawn out court cases are and very inefficient. This was all made worse due to the pandemic and limited access to courtrooms. It is disheartening to see defendants held in jail for years before they have had a trial. Seems counterintuitive to the right to a speedy trial. 

Overall the court cases and the data retrieval I worked on for firearms and number of homicides was very interesting and informative. Learning the legal lingo, steps involved in a criminal process from the presentments, preliminary hearings and various status hearings, submitting a guilty plea and sentencing and just generally how the various parties interact with each other. Attending court was very enlightening and I did not realize the plethora of information available to the public regarding criminal proceedings.

Regarding the more administrative aspects of the internship, I had some difficulty with getting my assignments either at all or on time. There were a few mishaps where I wasn’t included on the assignment emails or I was not given an assignment at all. In these instances I reached out to the scheduler to correct the error.  At times this did create frustration on my part because it made planning my day difficult. But beyond these few issues I felt very supported by the team and able to communicate freely. Krystin Roehl, specifically was very professional, succinct and clear with her instructions and when I made errors she walked me through the issues and I learned from her feedback.

I would definitely recommend this internship to other people interested in the court system, journalism and/or policy change. 

Alaina Provenza was a D.C. Witness intern in the Spring of 2021.

Document: Homicide in Southeast, DC

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are investigating a homicide that happened on May 8.

At around 5:45 p.m., officers responded to the 400 block of 8th Street, SE for the report of a stabbing. There, they found 29-year-old Keith Fry with an apparent stab wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene.