Victim’s Family Walks Out During Sentencing

On Dec. 12, a victim’s family walked out of court as a DC Superior Court judge was handing down sentences to two murder defendants.

Robert Washington and Derrick Hart plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed for their role in the shooting of 22-year-old Maleak Coffin on the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Jr Avenue, SE in 2017.

As Judge Todd Edelman began to give his orders for sentencing, family members of Coffin including his mother and sister walked out of the courtroom crying.

The family began to file out of the courtroom as Judge Edelman said that he was sentencing both Washington and Hart under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA), which will not hinder either man’s ability to gain employment or other things that require a criminal history check, unless searched by law enforcement, because of their convictions.

During the proceeding, three of Coffin’s family members spoke in front of the judge and the families of Washington, 22 and Hart, 24.

Coffin’s mother said that she knew that Coffin was a fighter since the day he was born and was especially worried about him throughout his life because “he came in fighting for his life so I knew everyday he would have to fight to stay alive.”

Coffin’s grandfather apologized to the court for missing several court proceedings but also thanked the judge and the Metropolitan Police Department for prosecuting the two men.

“These men could have walked away that day, but they didn’t and ultimately they thought they were the judge, the jury and the legal executioner. One day however, they will have to stand before the universe judge for what they have done,” said Coffin’s grandfather.

The prosecution said the offense was unnecessary and said that, “the braisonness of the offense, the fact that they left, made a u-turn and continued shooting into the car is why they deserved such a harsh allocution.”

She said, according to the medical exam, there was only one fatal shot to the head and she believed that shot came from Hart’s gun. She said that is why she wanted Hart to be sentenced to the maximum amount of time within the voluntary sentencing guidelines, which is twelve years.

She asked that the judge to sentence Washington to eight years in prison because even though she did not believe his bullets killed Coffin, she said he should still be held responsible.

Jonathan Zucker, who is the defense attorney for Hart, said that Hart was a good kid growing up and had finished high school. He said that Hart became a product of the environment he was around, stating that during 2017 the neighborhood Hart lived in had become a “cesspool” of shootings and murders and that is when Hart found it necessary to get a gun to protect himself.

He also said that Hart was a pillar in his family and they needed him in order to function again.

Washington’s defense counsel, Lisbeth Sapirstein, said that Washington was an important member of his family and every day he is remorseful for what happened and wishes he could take it back.

Both Hart and Washington apologized to Coffin’s family.

Judge Edelman sentenced Hart to 14 years in prison followed by five years of supervised released. Since Hart is sentenced under the YRA he must also complete 90 hours of community service upon is release.

Washington received seven and a half years in prison followed by five years of supervised release and 90 hours of community service once he is released. Judge Edelman also required Washington to get his GED or high school diploma while incarcerated.

DNA Evidence is ‘Extensive and Cannot be Expedited,’ Prosecutor Says

A prosecutor said that the DNA evidence undergoing testing in a case against a man accused of stabbing a dog walker is “extensive and cannot be expedited.” The testing may delay court proceedings. Eliyas Aregahegne, 24, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing Margery Magill, 27, on the 400 block of Irving Street, NW on Aug. 27. Magill was stabbed multiple times in the neck, back, and shoulder while walking a dog. The murder has attracted international attention in the media. DNA testing will not be completed before March of 2020, according to the prosecutor. DC Superior Court Judge Ronna Beck tentatively scheduled Aregahegne for a felony status conference on March 16, 2020. Judge Beck said the status conference may be rescheduled if the prosecution does not have either an indictment or the results of the DNA testing by then. “The investigation is progressing and on track,” said the prosecutor. He gave no indication when he expects to secure and indictment. This story was written by Siena Rush

Prosecutor says He’s ‘Not Opposed’ to Further Plea Negotiations

A prosecutor in a murder trial told a judge that he is not opposed to further plea negotiations with a murder defendant.

Alton Rivers , 54, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged role in the death of 68-year-old Anthony Anderson on the 3600 block of 14th Street, NW on July 27, 2018.

The prosecutor said that even though previous plea negotiations have not turned into a guilty plea his office is still open to negotiations if the defense would like to talk.

He also said that he would be transitioning off the case but would pass along any pertinent information to his successor.

Defense counsel, Lisbeth Sapirstein, said she does not expect to “reopen that door,” but would like that option available if Alton would like it.

A status hearing is scheduled to occur on Jan. 17, 2020.

Defense Counsel Requests Case Dismissal

A murder defendant’s attorney asked a DC Superior Court judge to dismiss a case because the prosecution did not meet a deadline.

Roscoe Jones is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Mark Mosley, 33. The shooting occurred on the 600 block of 46th Place, SE on Feb. 24, 2019.

Jones’ attorney, Mani Golzari, asked Judge Edelman to dismiss the case because the prosecution gave itself a deadline on Dec. 13 to gain an indictment and has not secured one.

“The prosecution essentially gave itself a deadline of today and we haven’t seen an indictment yet,” said Golzari.

Golzari said that if the judge is not willing to dismiss the case then he should released Jones on a nominal bond because he has another case that would compel him to show up to hearings.

Golzari also asked that the prosecution address witness issues and disclose the necessary documents.

“I haven’t received any information about this witness since the preliminary hearing. I need that information,” said Golzari.

The prosecution made representations at the bench as to why the indictment was delayed and also said that the nine-month period to gain an indictment ended in “early January 2020.”

Judge Edelman said that because of the representations the prosecutor made at the bench he still believes that they are working diligently on gaining an indictment and therefore denied the motion to dismiss.

He also said he would be willing to discuss terms of release after the indictment is secured because he believed “it would be a better suited discussion at that time, rather than now.”

A felony status conference is scheduled to occur on Jan, 3, 2020.

Document: Police Arrest MD Man for Murder

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a Maryland resident Dec. 13 for his involvement in a homicide that occurred in Northeast, DC.

According to a press release, 39 year-old Paul William Daniel is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 59 year-old Kevin Jerome Harrison on the 4100 block of Hayes Street, NE on Jan. 26.

Harrison died on the scene.

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Document: Police Arrest 2nd Suspect in 30th Street, SE Shooting

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested another suspect Dec. 12 in connection to a fatal shooting that occurred on the 3000 block of 30^th Street, SE.

According to a press release, 25 year-old Terell Kevonte Blackman and 25-year-old Devin Hill are charged with first-degree murder while armed. Hill is also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon for their involvement in the death of 28 year-old Michael Cunningham.

Blackman is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 20. Hill is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Jan. 10.

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Judge Orders Defense to Return Shell Casings to Prosecution

At the request of a prosecutor, a DC Superior Court judge order a defense attorney to return 33 items of evidence, including 6 shell casings to the prosecution so that they could conduct more testing. Wilbert Whitaker, 70, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 30-year-old Leo Hackett on the 800 block of 21st Street, NE on May 2, 2016. A prosecutor said she filed an emergency petition for a transfer of evidence after defense attorney, Mani Golzari, failed to respond to three emails she sent requesting that the evidence be returned. Golzari said the prosecution failed to explain why the evidence needed to be returned in their emails, calling their behavior “cryptic. The defense has been in possession of the evidence for three months and it “doesn’t make sense” that testing is taking so long, according to the prosecutor. The prosecutor said she is only interested in testing the shell casings and that she did not anticipate conducting DNA testing. “If anything it would just be firearms testing,” said the prosecutor. Judge Todd Edelman said he was “not really that interested” in what happened with the transfer of evidence up until now but ordered that all 33 items be returned before Dec. 27. During the same hearing, the prosecution raised concerns that Golzari would seek a continuance for the trial which Judge Edelman scheduled to begin on Feb. 3, 2020. D.C. Witness previously reported that the prosecution raised similar concerns in October. Golzari said he still has no plans to seek a continence, despite having two other trials scheduled shortly before Whitaker’s trial is scheduled to begin.

Murder Defendant to be Indicted Within Six Months

During a felony status conference on Dec. 12, a prosecutor said she expects to indict a murder defendant before the nine month indictment deadline expires in June.

Kavon Young, 29, is charged with first-degree felony murder for allegedly shooting 66-year-old John Pernell on the 3000 block of Nelson Place, SE on July 3, 2010.

The prosecutor said she does not anticipate any delays and everything is proceeding as expected with the grand jury.

DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman scheduled another felony status conference for Young on March 13, 2020.

Prosecution to Return iPad to Murder Defendant’s Daughter

Investigators collected an iPad, which belongs to a murder defendant’s daughter, as evidence in a case that occurred in February. But, during a felony status conference on Dec. 12, counsel agreed that the iPad had “no evidentiary value” and should be returned. Brandon Randall is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 30-year-old David Elijah Brandon on the 4300 block of Georgia Avenue, NW on Feb. 24. Brandon was a resident of Burtonsville, Md., which is located in Montgomery County, Md. A prosecutor said she did not believe there was a “good faith basis” to investigate the contents of the iPad. Brandon’s defense attorney, Ieshaah Murphy, said the defense does not object to returning the iPad to Randall’s daughter. During the same status conference, the prosecutor said that “the investigation is progressing” and she expects to indict Randall before mid-April. DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman scheduled Randall’s trial to begin on Oct. 13, 2020. Randall is scheduled for another felony status conference on Feb. 28, 2020.

Defense Counsel Requests More Names of Witnesses

During a status hearing, a defense counselor asked a DC Superior Court judge to compel a prosecutor to give all the names of the defendant’s family members who were involved in a fight that led to the deaths of a 40-year-old man and his wife.

Alonzo Lewis is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting 40-year-old Jaquon Helm and 35-year-old Venius Badgett on the Unit block of Galveston Street, SW in May of 2018. Lewis, 33, is also charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with intent to kill while armed against a minor and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Defense counsel, John Fowler, requested that Judge Danya Dayson require the prosecution to give all the names of the Lewis’ family members who were involved in a fight with Helm prior to his death. The fight was apparently captured on camera

He said that because of an extensive protective order, he was unable to consult with his client about who these family members were and why the fight occurred.

Fowler said he did have some of the names, but he did not have them all and could not identify everyone in the footage.

“It’s like handing me a bag full of names, shaking them up and saying, goodluck! Which, I believe is quite unfair,” said Fowler.

Fowler also asked that the prosecution disclose names of those who had been redacted from grand jury documents because he saw inconsistencies with witness statements in regards to the redacted names.

“Let’s just say someone named cousin was mentioned. Witness one would say something like ‘redacted was there when the murder happened.’ Then witness three would say ‘redacted left before anything happened.’ I need to know who redacted is so I can at least inquire about if he was actually there or not.”

The prosecutor said she could not disclose all the names or identifying factors about the family members because of safety concerns, which she told Judge Dayson at the bench.

She also said that she did not believe there were any inconsistencies with witness statements about the redacted names. She said the names were redacted because those were people she never spoke to or had any interest in speaking to.

Judge Dayson said she would not compel the prosecution to disclose the redacted names or identifying information of the family members, but she did set a deadline of Jan. 31 for the prosecution to make sure all names were turned over to Fowler in regards to those family members.

She also said she would give the prosecutor until that same date to look over the grand jury testimonies and make sure that there were no inconsistencies in witness statements regarding the redacted names.

A status hearing is scheduled to occur on Feb. 7 to discuss the status of the witness names.

Document: Homicide on 6th Street, SE

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating an incident that occurred on the 3600 block of 6^th Street, SE.

According to a press release, 68 year-old Louis Lorimer, who was a resident of Southeast, DC, succumbed to life-threatening injuries on Feb. 28.

Police said Lorimer suffered from injuries from closed head trauma inflicted on him on Oct. 14, 2018.

The department is offering a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case or any other homicide case in Washington, DC. Anyone with information should call the police at 202-727-9099. Anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s Text Tip Line — 50411.

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Document: Police Arrest Suspect for Two Homicides

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department arrested a man Dec. 11 who is suspected of two fatally shootings in Northeast, DC.

According to press releases, 22 year-old Brandon Wiggins, who is a resident of Northeast, DC, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 43 year-old Damon Bell and 25-year-old Donald Lewis, who was also a resident of Northeast, DC. The murders occurred on the 1600 block of West Virginia Avenue, NE on June 14 and the 1700 block of West Virginia Avenue, NE on Dec. 18, 2018, respectively.

Officers found both men suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Both men were pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The cases are still under investigation.

The department is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in these cases or any other homicide case in Washington, DC. Anyone with information should call the police at 202-727-9099. Anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s Text Tip Line — 50411.

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Defense Counsel Asks for More Time for Plea Deal

A defense counselor requested another status hearing so that a resolution could be made between her client and the prosecution.

Torey Stockton, 21, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for his alleged role in the death of 23-year-old Jasmine Light on the 2000 block of 16th Street, SE on Jan. 17, 2018. His co-defendant Kayla Thompson is charged with obstruction of justice.

On Dec. 11, defense counsel, Gemma Stevens, asked DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson to schedule another status hearing because she believed her client and the prosecution could come to some sort of plea agreement.

Kevin McCants, defense counsel for Thompson, agreed with Stevens in that a resolution could be made with more time.

Judge Dayson granted the request.

Another status hearing is scheduled to occur on Jan. 29, 2020

Murder Defendants Waive DNA Testing

During a hearing, Dec. 11, two murder defendants waived their rights to DNA testing. Nyekemia Everett and Malik Hewitt are charged with first-degree murder while armed, conspiracy, attempt to commit robbery while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for their alleged roles in the murder of 37-year-old Christopher Heard. According to a previous report, surveillance footage was used to identify Everett, 33, while a female witness identified Hewitt, 39. Both Everett and Hewitt waived their rights to test DNA evidence. The prosecutor told the court that he left some materials off that were available to be tested but that he told the defense a week before the hearing. He said that there were four pairs of pants that were available to be tested and that he had only tested one. He also said a sample that had been collected from a witness had not been tested. He also told the DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson that the plea deal is wired and that in order for a deal to be accepted both defendants have to accept it or one defendant had to agree to cooperate against the other. Everett’s defense attorney, Michael Madden, told Judge Dayson that Hewitt had been in plea negotiations while his client had not. A trial readiness hearing is scheduled to occur on Feb. 7, 2020.

Jury Finds Transgender Woman Not Guilty for Boyfriend’s Death

After a two-and-a-half-week trial, a murder defendant was found not guilty of killing her boyfriend.

Sean Baker, 40, was charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 35-year-old Robert Wiggins on 300 block of 37th Street, SE on Jan. 27, 2016. Baker was initially charged with assault with intent to kill, but the charges were upgraded after Wiggins died from his injuries on Jan. 31. Baker is a transgender woman.

On Dec. 9, five days after the jury began deliberations, Baker was acquitted of the murder.

Trial Breakdown:

Baker said she stabbed Wiggins in self defense and that he had a long history of beating her throughout their relationship.

According to court documents, Baker, who was released on personal recognizance while she awaited trial, allegedly stabbed Wiggins in the chest during a fight in their apartment in 2016.

During the trial, the prosecution called Baker’s best friend, a medical examiner, and a witness who found the murder weapon to the stand.

Baker’s best friend told the jury that Baker was obsessive in her relationship. The friend also said that even though Wiggins and Baker had constant physical altercations, Baker never alluded to any domestic abuse.

The lead detective in this case testified about Baker’s initial police interview.

In reference to the interview, Baker’s defense counsel, John R. Fowler, told the court that detectives at the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) did not question her appropriately.

Fowler said he was concerned that the lead detective, as well as another detective who is also working this case, violated a MPD policy regarding handling interactions with transgender individuals by not referring to Baker with the correct gender.

The witness who found the murder weapon also testified that he found a kitchen knife covered in blood under an orange sofa that had been discarded behind the the apartment building Baker and Wiggins lived in.

DNA testing concluded that the blood on the kitchen knife was a definitive match to Wiggins’ DNA.

The prosecution showed the witness’ video testimony to argue that Baker had hidden the murder weapon all along and this was just a cover up story.

However, GPS tracking evidence disproved the argument. Baker had not returned to the scene of the crime after she was detained.

Two of Wiggins’ ex-girlfriends, who were also transgender women, said Wiggins’ had an abusive history and he used to threaten to kill them.

“I don’t believe I would be here if we had gotten back together,” said one of the girlfriends.

Text messages showing the volatile relationship between Wiggins and Baker were displayed for the jury as well, including a photo of Baker bleeding and covered in bruises that Wiggins allegedly showed to everyone he knew on Christmas Day.

A property manager, for an apartment complex near Wiggins’ and Bakers complex, said that Baker had ran into her leasing office one day hiding from Wiggins. She said that Baker had appeared to be scared and shaken.

During closing arguments, the prosecution said Baker premeditated the killing of Wiggins and she lied various times to cover up the truth.

The prosecutor called Baker jealous and obsessive.

“And now, four years later, we have the opportunity to hold her responsible,” said the prosecutor.

Baker said she feared for her life throughout the entirety of the relationship. She said she was acting in self-defense, Baker’s defense attorney, Dominique Winters, said.

“For the prosecution to suggest otherwise is as far-fetched as it is ridiculous,” Winters continued.

The jury began deliberations on Dec. 4 and ended on Dec. 9.

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