Judge Vacates Murder Defendant’s Hearing

A DC Superior Court judge vacated a murder defendant’s Nov. 20 felony status conference.

Melvin Simmons, 27, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting of 28-year-old Robert Brown.

Another hearing date has not been set as of Nov. 20.

On the night of Aug. 22, 2019, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers responded to the 1700 block of Trenton Place, SE for the report of gunshots. There, they found Brown suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Around 20 minutes later, the MPD received another call for a shooting on the 1400 block of 18 Place, SE. Once they arrived, they saw Simmons suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital.

With the help of eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage, the police were able to identify Simmons, a resident of Temple Hills, Md., as their alleged suspect. After Simmons recovered from his injuries, he was arrested on Nov. 18, 2019.

Judge Neal Kravitz vacated Simmon’s hearing after a notice of discovery was issued.

Simmons is also being charged with the first-degree murder of William Roland on the 1500 Block of 18th Street, SE on Aug. 17, 2019. He is scheduled for a hearing in this case on Jan. 15, 2021.

Simmons is being held without bail in both cases.

Emily Pengelly wrote this article

Document: Homicide in Truxton Circle Neighborhood

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are investigating a homicide that happened on the afternoon of Nov. 19.

At around 3:41 p.m., officers responded to the 1400 block of North Capitol Street, NW for the report of a shooting.

There, they found 59 year-old Marcella Johnson suffering from a gunshot wound.

She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Crime Alerts: November 19-20

Between 9 p.m. on Nov. 19 and 9 a.m. on Nov. 20, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out three crime alerts.

The most recent alert was sent at 7:44 a.m. for a stabbing investigation on the 1400 block of Good Hope Road, SE.

Another alert for a stabbing investigation was sent at 7:36 a.m. on the 800 block of Southern Avenue, SE.

Police do not have a description of the suspects in either of the stabbing cases.

The final alert was sent at 9:35 p.m. for a robbery investigation on the 3000 block of G Street, SE. Police are looking for two Black males occupying a black sedan in this case.

Document: Police Arrest Second Suspect in September Homicide

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives arrested an 18 year-old suspect in connection with a homicide that happened on Sept. 26.

At around 11:25 p.m., officers responded to the 2900 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE for the sound of gunshots.

There, they found 25 year-old Anthony Lee suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

On Nov. 18, 18-year-old Kyrie Wells was arrested for first-degree murder while armed.

Back on Oct. 19, Niko James Hall was arrested for first-degree murder while armed in connection with the homicide.

Four of Five Defendants Receive Date for Hearings

A DC Superior Court judge scheduled trial readiness hearings for four of the five defendants charged in connection with a 2019 homicide.

Alonzo Brown, 23, Naquel Henderson, 23, Travist Alston, 27, and Stephon Evans, 20, are charged with first-degree murder while armed in the death of Michael Taylor.

Judge Juliet McKenna scheduled the hearings for March 18, 2021. The four had previously been scheduled to have a jury trial at the end of this month.

Taylor was 22 years-old when he was fatally shot on Jan. 12, 2019, on the 1700 block of Benning Road, NE.

Carlos Turner is also charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with the homicide. However, his case was not heard on Nov. 19. He is scheduled for a status hearing on Nov. 30.

The other four defendants are also charged with conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and assault with intent to kill while armed in their cases.

Judge Holds 10 Defendants, Releases 12 During Initial Hearings

On Nov. 19, DC Superior Court Judge Renee Raymond held 10 defendants and released 12 during initial hearings.

Kyrie Wells, 18, is held on a charge of first-degree murder while armed for his alleged role in the death of 25-year-old Anthony Lee on the 2900 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE on Sept. 26. Wells was arrested on Nov. 18. Judge Raymond found probable cause and held Wells due to the severity of the alleged crime.

“I do find that no conditions or combination of conditions will ensure the safety of the community, therefore he will be detained,” the judge said.

Riquina Battle, 33, is being held on charges of robbery and assault with significant bodily injury for allegedly assaulting an individual on a bus on the 2500 block of Branch Avenue, SE. The judge held Battle due to her history of assaultive charges.

A domestic violence defendant is held on charges of contempt and attempted threats to do bodily harm for violating his release conditions in another domestic violence case. Judge Raymond held him due to his failure to comply with previous stay away orders and the repetitive and violent nature of his previous domestic violence charges.

If the defendant is released in the future, he is ordered to stay away from the victims and their home, to not harass, assault, threaten or stalk (HATS) the victims, and to not own a firearm or ammunition.

Devone Foote, 38, is held on a probation violation after being charged with unlawful possession of liquid PCP on Nov. 19. Foote allegedly committed the offense while on supervised probation for a 2017 case in which he was convicted of a felony. He was held due to the violent nature of the felony as well as his other recent charges involving intoxication.

A domestic violence defendant is held on a charge of simple assault due to a series of domestic violence charges in the past two years, particularly due to three alleged domestic violence incidents that occured in July. The defendant has also been ordered to stay away from the victim and their residence if he is released in the future.

“What I see is that there are three [domestic violence] cases with the same complaining witness within a short period of time,” said Judge Raymond while making her decision to hold the defendant.

Another domestic violence defendant is held on charges of simple assault and contempt for violating his release conditions. He allegedly committed the offense while on release in a pending domestic violence case involving the same victim.

“My concern is that there are no conditions or combination of conditions that would ensure the safety of the community, specifically this complaining witness” said Judge Raymond. “I also note that [the defendant] has been out of compliance with reporting to pretrial services.”

Justin Covington, 33, is held on a bench warrant after failing to appear at a hearing for a case in which he is charged with GPS tampering for failing to charge his monitoring device. Judge Raymond held him due to his failure to comply with pretrial release conditions including many instances of failing to appear.

Nathaniel Davis, 64, is released on his recent charge of unlawful entry onto private property for allegedly entering a Home Depot unlawfully on Nov. 19. However, he allegedly violated parole in another case and is being held to deal with his parole matter.

Andre Wiggins, 42, is held in multiple new and pending cases involving charges of unlawful possession of liquid PCP, simple assault, violating bail and possession of a controlled substance. He is released in a new case in which he is charged with driving under the influence, operating a vehicle while impaired and no permit with an order not to drive at all.

A domestic violence defendant is held on charges of attempted threats to do bodily harm, simple assault, attempted possession of a prohibited weapon and second-degree theft. The defendant allegedly committed the offense while on release in another domestic violence case in which he is charged with simple assault and destruction of property. He is held to ensure the safety of the community and the alleged victim, who is the same in both cases.

Three defendants charged with felonies were released on their personal recognizance. One was also given a stay away order and another was also given an order not to own any firearms or ammunition in DC while their case is pending.

Three defendants charged as fugitives from justice were released with orders to report to their demanding jurisdictions. They must resolve their matters in other states by their next court date in DC.

Three domestic violence defendants were released. Two of them were ordered to stay away from the victims and the victims’ residences, one of whom was also ordered to get a GPS monitor. The third defendant was given a no HATS order in relation to the victim, but is allowed to return to their shared residence.

Finally, three defendants charged with misdemeanors were released on personal recognizance, and they were all given stay away orders.

This article was written by Maansi Srivastava.

Judge Schedules Trial Readiness Hearing for Murder Case

A murder defendant who was previously scheduled to have a jury trial in September is now set to have a trial readiness hearing in March of 2021.

“The defendant has been in jail for a long time, so I would like the trial readiness hearing to happen sometime in March,” said DC Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna during the Nov. 19 status hearing.

Elhadji Ndiaye, 21, is charged with armed first-degree murder, obstruction of justice, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, tampering with physical evidence, armed robbery and destruction of property less than $1,000.

Ndiaye is accused of shooting 21-year-old Travis Deyvon Ruth nine times on the 2700 block of Jasper Street, NE, on Jan. 19 of last year.

A week after Ruth’s death the green Honda Accord used in the homicide was found burned, according to court documents.

The defendant was initially charged with first-degree murder while armed in February of last year. He was indicted on his current charges the following November.

Defense attorney Nikki Lotze was assigned to the case in August and said her requests for evidence have not been completed.

Lotze previously requested a copy of the interviews conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the prosecution said there were confidentiality concerns that needed to be addressed first.

“I will not be satisfied with just the transcript,” she said.

Judge McKenna asked counsel to resolve the matters and enter in all motions by the end of February.

Ndiaye’s trial readiness hearing was scheduled for March 18, which is the soonest Judge McKenna said it could be scheduled due to the backlog of cases waiting to move to trial.

Sierra Robbins wrote this article.

Judge Continues Hearing for Murder Defendant Awaiting Competency Eval

A DC Superior Court judge continued a murder defendant’s status hearing following complications regarding his mental competency being evaluated.

Matthew Walker, 22, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old David Anthony Remen on the 1700 block of Hamlin Street, NE on Feb. 14, 2019. The case is one of eight cases Walker has open. All of them were picked up in 2019.

Walker was charged with murder in October 2019, according to DC Courts. The previous July, a full examination of his competency was ordered in other cases he had open at the time. Then, in January, his murder case was continued so that it could trail his other cases, which were still in the process of evaluating his competency.

The expert who was assigned to evaluate Walker’s competency to stand trial is currently in California and cannot travel to DC because he is at high-risk with regards to coronavirus complications.

Judge Juliet McKenna asked the prosecutor if the evaluation could be completed via web conference.

The prosecutor said there are two evaluations: a general competency evaluation and a neurological examination. While the first evaluation could be completed via web conference, the neurological examination needs to be done in person.

Judge McKenna recommended that the prosecutor find an expert that lives near DC to complete the evaluations.

Since the case can’t move forward without the competency evaluation, Judge McKenna decided to schedule another status conference for April 12, 2021.

Walker is also charged with assault with intent to kill while armed for allegedly stabbing a victim in the neck on the 100 block of Michigan Avenue, NE on April 29, 2019 ,in a separate case. In his other six cases, he is charged with unarmed carjacking, robbery, first-degree theft, unauthorized use of a vehicle, prison breach, escape from an officer, assault on a police officer and simple assault.

Walker is currently being held at the DC Jail.

Case Acquitted: Judge Schedules Preliminary Hearing in Murder Case

This case was acquitted on Dec. 16, 2022.

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

Reginald Hooks, 35, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 22-year-old Dy’Mani Priestley on Jan. 5 on the 1200 block of U Street, NW. Hooks’ co-defendant, Ladaryl Canty, is charged with obstruction of justice and tampering with physical evidence.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.

During the Nov. 19 hearing, parties told Judge Juliet McKenna that Canty, 49, did not have an attorney. They were unsure when to schedule the preliminary hearing because they had no one to contact in Canty’s case.

Judge Juliet McKenna appointed defense attorney Kevin Mosley, who was in the courtroom for a separate matter, to Canty’s case.

Canty is scheduled for a presentment hearing on Dec. 14 as well.

Maria Marzullo wrote this article.

Close to One Quarter of Defendants Held During Initial Hearings in First Half of November

Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 15, DC Superior Court judges presided over 248 cases during initial hearings, which is 28 percent less than the previous two weeks.

Fifty-two defendants were held at the DC Jail and two were held under the supervision of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). The other 194 defendants were released with pretrial supervision conditions or put back onto probation or parole.

Overall, about 78 percent of defendants were released; judges held almost 22 percent. This is similar compared to the last two weeks in October, where judges held just over 21 percent of all cases.

Between the two DC Superior Court judges presiding over initial hearings, Judge Judith Pipe held the lowest percentage of defendants, holding about two percent less than Judge Heide Herrmann.

Judge Pipe held 28 defendants and released 106. In total, she held almost 21 percent of all defendants she spoke with.

Judge Herrmann held 26 defendants, releasing 88. In total, she held almost 23 percent of all defendants who came through her courtroom.

Compared to judges in October, Judge Pipe and Judge Herrmann were very close to average. The average of all defendants held in October was almost 23 percent. Judge Pipe held slightly below average and Judge Herrmann held right at average.

General Statistics

There were 58 domestic violence cases, 60 felonies, 76 misdemeanors, 12 traffic violations, 28 bench warrants and 56 fugitive case matters. The majority of all cases were misdemeanors, taking up over 26 percent of all cases.

*Note: some defendants have multiple c*ases

At least 41 defendants that appeared for initial hearings were on supervision, which included pretrial, parole and probation. This is less than half of what was seen in the second half of October, though it is worth mentioning that sometimes the parties do not mention whether someone is on supervised release. Due to this discrepancy, there could be more people on some sort of supervision than listed.

Judges mentioned a total of 35 violations of supervision. These include failure to appear at hearings, violating stay away orders, tampering with GPS monitoring devices and being considered a general loss of contact to either the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) or to parole and probation officers.

Domestic Violence Cases

Of the domestic violence cases, 51 of the defendants were released and seven were held.

The domestic violence charges included assault, contempt of release conditions, arson, violating Temporary Protection Orders (TPO) and Civil Protection Orders (CPO), threats to do bodily harm, cruelty to children, destruction of property and weapon possession.

By far, the most common charge in domestic violence cases was simple assault, which consisted of almost 58 percent of all domestic violence cases. This trend has been consistent over the months that D.C. Witness has been tracking all cases.

*Note: some defendants have multiple charges*

The most common charge for held defendants was also simple assault. Contempt was the second most common charge.

Four of the held defendants were on probation or pretrial supervision at the time they allegedly committed their new offense.

Felony Cases

Charges in felony cases include weapons offenses, drug possession and distribution, involuntary manslaughter, first and second-degree murder, first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree child sexual abuse, armed robbery, burglary, assault and traffic violations. Some defendants were charged with multiple offenses.

The most common charge that judges held defendants on, in felony cases, were weapons offenses.

Additionally, at least three of the defendants held on felony charges were on probation or pretrial supervision at the time they allegedly committed their new offense.

This report was written by Caitlyn O’Neil, Maria Marzullo and Krystin Roehl

Editor’s note: All figures in the article should be considered as approximations.

Document: Police Investigate Assault with Intent to Kill Offense

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives are investigating an assault with intent to kill offense that happened on Nov. 18.

At around 1:50 p.m., a suspect entered a residence under construction n the 1600 block of Olive Street, NE. The suspect brandished a firearm and fired a shot at the victim, took property and then fled the scene.

The victim was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Document: Police Seek Suspect for Robbery

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is seeking a suspect in relation to a robbery that occurred on Nov. 14.

At approximately 6:00 p.m., the suspect approached the victim and snatched their property on the 1700 block of I Street, NW.

The suspect was caught by a surveillance camera and can be seen in the photos below.

Document: Police Arrest Suspect for Assault With a Gun

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has arrested a suspect in connection with an assault with a gun that occurred on Nov. 17.

At approximately 3:10 p.m., suspects fired guns on the 1400 block of Montana Avenue, NE. One of the suspects was apprehended by responding officers, and during their investigation, they discovered that an adult male sustained non-life threatening injuries. He reportedly transported himself to a local hospital for treatment.

Officers arrested and charged a 27 year-old male with assault with a dangerous weapon.

Document: Suspects Sought for Attempted Robbery

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is seeking two suspects in relation to an attempted robbery that occurred on Nov. 17.

At approximately 5:57 p.m., the suspects entered an establishment on the 5300 block of Wisconsin Avenue, NW. The suspects then demanded property from multiple victims, acting as if they had a weapon.

The victims did not comply with the demand, and the suspects fled the scene without obtaining any property.

The suspects were caught on camera and can be seen in the photos within the MPD press release below.

Crime Alerts: November 18-19

Between 8 p.m. on Nov. 18 and 9 a.m. on Nov. 19, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) sent out one crime alert.

The alert was sent at 8:23 p.m. for a robbery on the 1300 block of Maple View Place, SE. Police are looking for a Black male with a dark complexion and slim build, wearing a black hat and black shirt. He was last seen running towards Mount View Street, SE.

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General Statistics

Domestic Violence Cases

Felony Cases