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Document: Homicide on Atlantic Street, SE

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting that occurred on June 20 on the 600 block of Atlantic Street, SE.

During the morning hours, police located Andre Simmons, Jr., 28, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He did not show any signs consistent with life on the scene.

The Prince George’s County Police Department apprehended June 21 Darin C. Moore, Jr. in connection with kidnapping Simmons.

Apparently, Moore, along with another individual, kidnapped Simmons from a parking lot near his home in Bowie, Md. News reports state that Simmons’ family paid a $7,000 ransom to get him back, but he was shot anyway. Homicide charges have not been filed.

The Washington Post reported that police located Moore through his vehicle, a black Nissan. According to the Post, police were currently tracking a black Nissan they suspected was involved in a robbery. When police discovered a black Nissan was also involved in Simmons’ abduction, police checked the tracking information. The vehicle, which was registered to Moore, was at the site of the kidnapping and where the victim’s body was found.

The Post also reports that both the victim and suspect have convictions in Prince George’s County for drug and gun charges, respectively. Authorities refused to provide any information on whether the shooting and convictions are linked.

Moore is being held without bond.



Counsel Questions Murder Defendant’s Competency

During a hearing June 19, counsel questioned the mental competency of a man who allegedly killed his neighbor over noise from a lawnmower.

Courtesy photo
After his arrest, William Hunt has been held at St. Elizabeths Psychiatric Hospital (pictured) for treatment for his anti-social personality disorder.

William Hunt is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly stabbing George White on the 400 block of Newcomb Street, NE in 2011. Hunt, 62, did custodial work at the apartment building where he and White lived.

According to multiple witnesses, White, 48, confronted Hunt when the sound from the lawnmower disturbed White’s sleep. Court documents said White suffered 59 stab wounds to the head, neck, shoulder and hands.

In 2015, a doctor from St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, DC’s psychiatric hospital, testified that Hunt was competent to stand trial. That same doctor was questioned about Hunt’s competence again on June 18 and June 19. Hunt is currently being held at the hospital.

The witness shared information about Hunt’s diagnosis and treatment while at St. Elizabeth’s. She said, since his arrest, Hunt has been diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder.

Due to conflicting schedules, the court decided to continue the motion hearing on Oct. 15. The court is also open to setting a later date in January if complications arise.  

Stay tuned to D.C. Witness to find out more about the case.

Independence Day Murder Trial Postponed to September

DC Superior Court Judge Ronna L. Beck postponed a trial date for four men who are accused of murdering another man during an Independence Day shootout that left one dead and three injured.

The defendants are charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Dwayne Dillard on the 2600 block of Douglass Place, SE.

Shakim Lyons, one of the defendants, was shot in the eye during the shootout.

A trial for Jonathan Taylor; Lyons, 28; James Coffield, 26;, and Harry Herbert, 30, is scheduled for Sept. 24. DC Superior Judge Milton Lee will preside over the trial.

The trial was initially set for July 9, but Taylor, 27, requested new counsel, which further delayed the date. The other defendants kept their existing attorneys.

In place of the trial, a status hearing is scheduled for July 9.

Murder Charges Dropped, Defendant Pleads Guilty to Possession

A man, who was initially charged with second-degree murder while armed, pled guilty June 19 to a possession charge.

Sean Smith  was accused of shooting 26-year-old Matthew Walker on the 900 block of Eastern Avenue, NE in 2016 after an altercation at a party. Smith claimed the shooting occurred in self defense, according to court documents. Both Smith and Walker’s DNA was found on the alleged murder weapon.

Smith, 38,  pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm. His murder charge and gun possession charges were dismissed on June 6.

DC Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff accepted Smith’s plea under the condition that he remains in the high intensity supervision program, registers as a gun offender and pays a fine.

Smith’s original trial date and status hearings were suspended. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 5.

Defendant’s Ex-Girlfriend Gives Inconsistent Testimony at Murder Trial


During a 2014 murder trial, the defendant’s ex-girlfriend gave inconsistent testimony while detailing events leading up to the murder of Jamie Washington.

According to court documents, Andre Joyner, his girlfriend at the time and her cousin went on a hunt for the girlfriend’s stolen laptop. The prosecution and defense said the girlfriend believed Washington stole the computer.

Together the trio questioned Washington’s mother about her son’s whereabouts. Joyner and his girlfriend subsequently confronted Washington, 31, in an alleyway on the 700 block of 18th Street, NE, where police found him dead.

Joyner, 27, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing Washington. Joyner is also charged with tampering with evidence for getting rid of the clothes he wore on the night of the homicide.

Joyner’s ex-girlfriend pled guilty to being an accessory to Washington’s murder. As part of her plea agreement, she testified about the events leading up to Washington’s death. Committing perjury or lying under oath would violate her agreement.

During her testimony, Joyner’s ex-girlfriend told the prosecution that Joyner was involved in a physical altercation or “fight” with her cousin the day Washington was murdered. When questioned by the defense, she changed her answer and said the “fight” only consisted of arguing. There were various other instances when the girlfriend’s statements contradicted her grand jury testimony.

Noting the discrepancies, defense attorney Kevin Mosley asked the girlfriend if she knew the definition of perjury and reminded her of the consequences associated with lying on the stand.

Mosley accused Joyner’s ex-girlfriend of “sugar-coating” the facts in an attempt to shift the focus from herself to Joyner. During his opening statements, Mosley said the girlfriend was responsible for Washington’s murder.

Following cross-examination, the girlfriend told the prosecution that she knew her testimony implicated Joyner, but she was also further incriminating herself. During her testimony, the girlfriend admitted to devising and executing a plan to get rid of Joyner’s bloodied pants from the night of the murder.

The trial is scheduled to resume on June 20.

Witness Claims He Saw Co-Defendants Attempt to Rob NE Apartment

A witness in a 2015 murder trial confirmed that he saw the three co-defendants attempt to rob an apartment in Northeast DC.

Charles McRae, Willie Glover and Joseph Barbour are charged with first-degree murder while armed. The three men are accused of stabbing Lenard Wills in the course of the alleged robbery.

The witness was a frequent occupant of the apartment on the 700 block of 24th Street, NE. According to counsel, the apartment was a place where people would convene to do drugs. The witness said that he was the one who let three attackers in to the apartment.

According to the prosecution’s opening statement, Wills’ girlfriend was making dinner when McRae, 66, and Wills, 50, began arguing about money. McRae stormed out and found Glover, 40, and Barbour, 38, outside. The prosecution said the three then returned to the apartment to rob it.

According to the witness, he was nervous about letting McRae back into the apartment because McRae looked nervous.The witness also said he heard McRae talking about robbing Wills in the past.

The witness said once he opened the door, three men stormed in. Two of the men had guns and masks. When asked if he recognized the men in masks, the witness became silent. After a long pause, the witness said “Will and Short.” According to government documents, Barbour is sometimes known as “Shorty.”

In his opening statement, Barbour’s lawyer said his client was actually a victim of the attack. He said there was another attacker who worked with McRae and Glover. The lawyer said the third man escaped.

“(He) ran from apartment 81 into the night forevermore,” said Barbour’s lawyer. “He’s not in this courtroom today.”

Barbour’s lawyer also said a bloody knife, recovered from a trash can near the crime scene, was used to attack Barbour. The lawyer said Barbour did not use the weapon to attack Wills. The blood on the knife was found to belong to Barbour, according to the lawyer.

McRae’s attorney said that McRae and Wills actually had a good relationship and that most of their disagreements were about sports. “(McRae) was there to do what everyone else was there to do. He was there to get high,” McRae’s attorney said. “He left the apartment with the sole purpose of getting some more drugs.”

The lawyer noted that witnesses were inconsistent as to whether one, two or all three of the robbers wore masks.The prosecution acknowledged that their witnesses were not always consistent in their accounts.

The trial is scheduled to resume tomorrow, June 20.

Judge Pushes Convicted Murderer’s Hearing Back to September

Darrel Hendy was shot to death in 2010.

After witnesses failed to show at a post disposition hearing, a DC Superior Court judge postponed the hearing until September. The witnesses were subpoenaed by the defense to testify that a convicted murderer was not the shooter.

Even though,  Chamontae Walker was sentenced to 40 years for the first-degree murder of Darrel Hendy, Walker, 40, still insists that he is innocent. According to the defense, several witnesses said Walker did not shoot Hendy, 29. The incident happened in 2010 on the 800 block of Southern Avenue, SE.

Only one of three witnesses went to the hearing. The one witness who did go was already in custody for a probation violation when summoned.

The witness repeatedly stated that he knew Walker didn’t shoot Hendy. “When the shooting rang out we all ran inside the apartments,” he said. According to the prosecution, Walker was convicted of the murder because he provided the murder weapon.

Counsel was initially given time to locate witnesses that were in the vicinity of the murder after a post disposition hearing in April. DC Superior Court Judge Thomas Motley refused to allow the defense to put convicted murderer Meeko Carraway on the stand. Carraway pled guilty to Hendy’s murder in 2011. He is currently serving a 25-year sentence at Lee County Industrial Park, a U.S. penitentiary in Virginia.

Walker’s hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26.  The defense expects to hold a video conference with a witness, who is currently in custody in Prince George’s County, Md., at the hearing.

Trial Date Set for Accused Shooter

During a felony status hearing June 15, a DC Superior Court judge set a trial date for an alleged murderer in order to give counsel ample time to present the case. The trial is scheduled for May 20, 2019.

Charles Young is charged with allegedly shooting Kenneth Poindexter on the 4700 block of Benning Road, SE. on Jan. 20.

The motion to set a date comes after the 26 year old’s defense team requested an official trial date. The prosecution had no opposition with this request.

The defense also requested Young be released under the High-Intensity Supervision Program (HISP). However, Judge Judith Bartnoff feared Young was a “flight risk” and denied his release.

Young’s next status hearing is scheduled for Sept. 7.

Defendant in Traffic Collision Case Receives 7 Years

A man who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter after killing a close friend in a traffic collision was sentenced to seven years in prison and five years of supervised release.

Tyre Donnell Bailey was in the passenger’s seat of Lawrence Dukes’ car at the time of the accident. According to court documents, traffic cameras caught Dukes running a red light and hitting a Metrobus. Along with killing Bailey, Dukes also injured four people. Dukes was driving erratically between 55 and 60 miles per hour in a 35 mile-per-hour zone. He ran a traffic light at the intersection of Stanton Road, SE and Suitland Parkway, SE in 2016.

When police arrived on the scene, Dukes, 28, and Bailey, 20, were unconscious according to court documents. Officers managed to remove Dukes from the car, but Bailey’s legs were pinned by the passenger’s side dashboard. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department were unable to extricate him before flames consumed the vehicle. Bailey burned to death.

Dukes is currently undergoing rehabilitation to recover from the injuries he sustained in the crash.

“Mr. Dukes is just like a son to me,” one of Bailey’s family members said. “I’m here for Mr. Dukes. And I understand the government’s gonna do what it’s gonna do.”

According to Dukes’ defense attorney, Bailey’s family has come to every one of Dukes’ court hearings to show their support.

The defense also said that Dukes was enrolled in college classes and asked that he be allowed to complete them before being sent to prison. DC Superior Court Judge Zoe Bush declined the request.

“When you’re released from prison you’ll still be a young man,” Judge Bush told Dukes. “You’ll be living for two people now.”

 

Man Charged with Killing Cousin Receives New Counsel

During a status hearing June 18, a man accused of fatally shooting his cousin presented a letter requesting new counsel to DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson.

Gary Proctor is charged with second-degree murder while armed. He allegedly shot Jerome Diggs, 47, on the 1300 block of First Street, SW in 2015 because he was being teased, according to court documents.

Judge Dayson granted the defendant’s request for new counsel. She appointed Steven Kiersh as Proctor’s, 40, new defense attorney.

A status hearing is scheduled for June 25.

Judge Rules Against Suppressing Defendant’s Statements to Police


A judge ruled against a motion that would have suppressed statements made by a murder defendant while he was recovering from surgery.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe said he ruled against suppressing statements Willie Glover made while under the influence of morphine because the prosecution met its burden of proof to show that police did not obtain the statements through coercion.

Judge Iscoe noted that Glover was not hallucinating or speaking nonsensically when he made the statements and that officers of the Metropolitan Police Department voluntarily terminated the interview when it became clear that Glover could not continue.

Glover, 40, is charged with first-degree murder along with Charles McRae and Joseph Barbour. The three are accused of stabbing Lenard Wills in an apartment on the 700 block of 24th Street, NE in 2015. Glover was arrested after checking himself into a hospital in Prince George’s County with stab wounds.

Judge Iscoe said he would not credit testimony from the mother of Glover’s child, who said Glover was incoherent for days at a time while in the hospital. This was contradicted by medical records and testimonies from other witnesses. The baby-mother also said she was too upset to notice whether nurses were coming and going from Glover’s bedside.

In addition, Judge Iscoe ruled that information about selling drugs would not be admissible in court since its potential to turn the jury against the defendants outweighed its value. Judge Iscoe said his understanding of the incident in which Wills was killed was consistent with a robbery, so it would be treated as such.

The jury trial for Glover, McRae, 66, and Barbour, 38, is set to begin on June 19.

Defendant Ordered to Pay $200,000+ in Restitution for 4-Year-Old’s Death

A judge ordered a convicted murderer to pay more than $200,000 in restitution for the death of a four-year-old girl.

A jury convicted Jerome Lewis of first-degree murder and first-degree cruelty to children, among other charges, in 2017. Apparently, he intentionally set fire to a home he owned on the 2600 block of 33rd Street, SE. Samauri Jenkins died in the fire.

Lewis, 51, rented out the first and second floors of the house to family members who lived there, including the decedent, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Jenkins was rescued from the fire by emergency services but later died at a hospital from smoke inhalation and burns.

Lewis was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

 

ABC 7
The home that Jerome Lewis set fire to, killing 4-year-old Samauri Jenkins.

The prosecution said Lewis should pay more than one million dollars in restitution. They based the amount on what Jenkins could have earned if she reached adulthood. The projection came from an average of various high school and college graduates’ incomes.

 

D.C. Superior Court Judge Milton Lee said he did not struggle to decide whether restitution should be paid but had some difficulty deciding what the dollar amount would be. He ultimately settled on $204,503, noting Jenkins was an “amazing” and “bright” girl.

“How do I account for… that loss of earnings?” Lee said. “Did she have an interest that would motivate her beyond high school?”

Murder Defendant Found Competent To Stand Trial

A man charged with second-degree murder while armed appears to be mentally competent and will be released from mental health treatment, according to a DC Superior Court judge.

Deangelo Thorne allegedly stabbed Waliyatou Amadou, 23, on the 1400 block of W Street, NW in 2017. Court documents said surveillance footage and Thorne’s GPS monitor, worn for past drug-related charges, placed him at the scene of the crime.

On April 4, Judge Judith Bartnoff ordered treatment for Thorne at St. Elizabeths Hospital, DC’s psychiatric hospital. According to the defense, Thorne suffered from anxiety issues.

A report from St. Elizabeths stated that Thorne was capable of moderating his own behavior and received the maximum therapeutic benefits from treatment. Thorne continues to be held without bond.

Thorne is scheduled for a status hearing on July 25.

Judge Denies Convicted Murderer’s Release

A  D.C. Superior Court judge denied the defense’s request June 15 to reconsider the release of a man charged with fatally shooting a teenager in 2010. The man claims the wrong guy was convicted.

Donnell Washington was convicted of first-degree murder while armed for shooting Stanley Dawson on the 3500 block of 19th St., SE in 2012. According to court documents, Washington, 34, shot three people in retaliation, after someone took a gun from Washington’s friend. Dawson, 19, was killed.

The defense said the prosecution should not have asked for jury instruction regarding aiding and abetting. The defense said the instruction inferred that Washington knew the murder would occur. Instead, the defense said Washington only pointed out Dawson to an unidentified shooter, not expecting anyone would be killed.

“I’ve been incarcerated eight years for a crime I didn’t commit,”  Washington said. “If you give me the opportunity to go home and provide for my family, I’m not an animal… I will not flee.”

Even so, Judge Craig Iscoe said Judge Russell Canan was right to deny the motion for a bond review. “I find no new evidence that would lead to a different decision,” he said. “I’m taking time to explain it because I know how disappointing it is to you and your attorneys. Finding the law as I do, you must continue to be held.”

Washington is scheduled for a status hearing on Aug. 17.

Judge Sets Hearing to Review Murder Defendant’s Medical Treatment

A DC Superior Court judge set a status hearing to reevaluate the effectiveness of mental health and substance abuse treatment for a murder defendant.

According to court documents, Sean Maichael Baker called 911 after she allegedly stabbed Robert Leroi Wiggins on the 300 block of 37th Street, SE, in 2016. Baker, 35, faces charges of second-degree murder while armed and assault with the intent to kill. She is claiming self defense and is currently released on personal recognizance.

Even though Baker is subject to drug tests and treatment, Judge Judith Bartnoff expressed concerns June 15 that Baker voluntarily missed treatment and avoided drug tests.

John Fowler, Baker’s defense attorney, said she missed the tests on May 28 and June 8 because of health issues that were not specified. Fowler said Baker “frequently communicates” with her assigned social worker.

The effectiveness of Baker’s treatment is scheduled for review at her next status hearing on Oct 12.