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Man Charged with Double Homicide Switches Plea

On Feb. 21, David Bright pled guilty to two counts of murder in the first-degree. However, on June 8, Bright changed his plea to not guilty.

Bright, 31, is accused of allegedly shooting his housemates, 45-year-old David Watkins Jr. and Clifton Francis,51, on the 500 block of 58th Street, NE in February 2016. According to court documents, Bright was found with the murder weapon, a .40 caliber pistol. Despite an extensive amount of evidence from the prosecution, Bright wrote a letter to DC Superior Court Judge Ronna L. Beck stating that he wanted to change his guilty plea.

The change follows a sentencing hearing held May 18 that was continued to June 8. After the May 18 hearing, Bright’s mother told D.C. Witness that her son’s guilty plea was coerced. D.C. Witness is currently investigating the mother’s accusations.

Because of the change, Judge Beck assigned a criminal justice attorney to advise Bright on his decision to change his plea. The defense is interested in having a mental health evaluation and/or a competency screening conducted.

The judge is giving Bright more time to decide if he would like to move forward with the not-guilty plea.

A status hearing is scheduled for June 29.

Shooter in Domestic Homicide Pleads Not Guilty

After being charged with second-degree murder while armed, Kevin Smith pled not guilty during an arraignment on June 8.

Smith, who was 47 at the time of the homicide, is charged with allegedly shooting Valerie Coleman, the grandmother of his child. Apparently, Smith killed the 55-year-old in retaliation to finding out that his girlfriend, who was Coleman’s daughter, was cheating on him.

On June 8, Smith changed counsel. Smith’s new attorney requested time to review evidence in the case.

The arraignment is scheduled to continue on July 18.

Prosecution Continues to Investigate Parking Lot Murder

The prosecution said May 30 they would continue investigating a shooting death that took place in the parking lot of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near the 6900 block of Georgia Avenue, NW.

Koonce Wright allegedly shot Brian Gibson three times on Dec. 8, 2017. Wright is charged with second-degree murder while armed.

Gibson and Wright worked for G&M Limo Service. On the day of the shooting, the men were driving construction workers to and from a construction site on Military Road, NW.

Wright, 59, said the two were involved in a verbal confrontation when Gibson, 45, became physically violent and punched him, knocking out several  teeth.Wright said he then pulled a gun on Gibson.

According to court documents,  Wright shot at Gibson as he began to run. Apparently, Wright chased Gibson until he fell, at which point Wright shot him again.

Wright’s defense attorney, Madalyn Harvey, requested time to file a motion to reconsider bond due to the defendant’s medical condition. The condition was not specified.

A felony status conference is scheduled on June 20.

Prosecutors Consider Counter-offer in 2016 Murder Case


In a status hearing for the 2016 murder of Deonta Farrar, the defense responded to a potential plea bargain with a counter-offer, which was not publically disclosed.

The defendant, Saeed Woodall, 24, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Farrar on the 4500 block of Quarles Street, NE in August 2016.

Farrar, 23, had a child with Woodall’s sister, according to court documents.

The prosecution said they would notify D.C. Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe once they examined the counter-offer and were ready to move forward.

A status hearing is scheduled for Sept. 7.

Probable Cause Found in Fatal Stabbing Case

On June 6, a Washington, DC Superior Court judge said prosecutors established probable cause in the case of a fatal stabbing that occurred in a Southeast DC alleyway.

Antonio Jackson, who is charged with first-degree murder while armed, allegedly stabbed Maria Antoinette Evans 19 times on March 29.

Jackson, 32, was identified by his parole officer from a surveillance video that shows him and Evans, 52, walking behind a fence in an alley.

The footage also shows Jackson holding a knife as he walks behind the fence with Evans. Shortly after, Jackson and Evans emerge from behind the fence, heading in different directions. In the video, Evans jogs a short distance before slowing while holding her side.

The defense said the video supported the defendant’s innocence because Evans was seen jogging away from the alleged area of confrontation.

“It’s probably not an exaggeration to say it’s physically impossible for her to have been stabbed 19 times,” said Jackson’s defense attorney, Gabriel Diaz. “You can see she’s alive and they part ways.”

The prosecution said the majority of her bleeding was internal, which would explain why the video does not clearly show her bleeding. According to court documents, Evans was stabbed in the upper body and torso.

Judge Craig Iscoe said he found probable cause from the lead detective’s testimony and the video.

Judge Iscoe also denied a request for release but said that if DNA evidence from the alleyway turned out to favor the defense, the request could be reconsidered.

A felony status conference is scheduled for Aug. 17.



Preliminary Hearing Continues for Suspected Child Killer

A District of Columbia Superior Court Judge continued June 6 the preliminary hearing for a murder defendant accused of beating a 1-year-old boy to death. The hearing was continued to give the defense more time to review evidence and a plea deal.

Brian Wooden is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly killing his girlfriend’s son, Carter Sanders, on the 4700 block of Benning Rd., SE on May 16. The boy’s injuries included a fractured skull, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver, according to court documents. 
The plea deal would reduce Wooden’s charge to second-degree murder.
Wooden, 28, was apparently caring for the boy at the time of the murder.
As of June 6, Sanders death is the second murder of a child who was 2-years-old or younger in DC in 2018. 

 

Document: Homicide on Stevens Rd. SE

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the homicide of 29-year-old Vincent Palmer.

Palmer was fatally shot on the 1300 block of Stevens Road, SE on June 6.

Police are offering up to a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this homicide or any other homicide in DC. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Information can also be sent anonymously to the text tip line at 50411.



Murder Suspect Awaits Status Hearing


In place of conducting a preliminary hearing for Kavonte Richardson, who is charged with first-degree murder while armed, a DC Superior Court Judge scheduled a status hearing on June 22.

Judge Ronna L. Beck said she didn’t want to call witnesses unnecessarily because there was a possibility they would not testify. Instead, she scheduled a status hearing to set a preliminary hearing date.

Richardson, 24, allegedly robbed and stabbed 26-year-old Matthew Scott Rooker on May 13 on the 600 block of Seventh St., NW. Richardson apparently resided at a homeless shelter near the scene of the crime.

According to the Washington Post, a witness saw Richardson and Rooker fighting over a backpack.  Rooker suffered from multiple stab wounds to the neck, arm and back.

 


Murder Trial for 2015 Homicide Set Four Years Later

At a trial readiness hearing, the judge presiding over a 2015 homicide case rescheduled the trial for a new date in 2019.

Antonio Brown, 30, allegedly shot Charles Welch, 25, on the 1800 block of Harvard St., NW. His girlfriend Amanda Turner, 39, was allegedly waiting in the car.

The fourth change of the trial’s date was in response to a request from counsel because they needed more time to secure witnesses and file motions relevant to the case. Both parties wanted to secure experts to review Brown’s medical records.

DC Superior Court Judge Ronna L. Beck scheduled the new trial date on Jan. 3, 2019.  She said the new date should give the defense and prosecution enough time to get expert witnesses.

Brown and Turner’s next status hearing is scheduled for Sept. 7.

Judge Approves Defense’s Request for Competency Screening

On June 5, Juan Kibler’s attorney requested a competency screening to decipher if his client should stand trial.

Kibler, 27, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing Joseph Harris on May 7.  According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Harris, 40, was reportedly found dead on the 2100 block of 14th St., SE.

Kibler is due back in court June 12 for a status hearing. His lawyers said they would review his competency results at the hearing.

Document: Man Succumbs to Injuries from Car Crash Over Memorial Day Weekend

The Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating a fatal traffic crash that occurred on May 25 at the intersection of H Street and New York Avenue, NW.

According to police documents, Anthony Eugene Johnson’s car, a Dodge Challenger, was traveling at a high speed and hit a median. The car struck a traffic light and flipped.

Johnson, 33, died at a local hospital on June 4.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the police at 202-727-9099.



Defense Says Delay Puts Client at a Disadvantage

Defense counsel challenged the prosecution’s intent to try a murder defendant nearly 25 years after the crime, calling it a violation of due process.

Therion Bryant is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing Charlene Johnson. Johnson, 25,  died in the basement landing of a residence on the 3600 block of New Hampshire Avenue, NW in 1993.

Bryant was not a person of interest in the case until 2014 after DNA from the crime scene was uploaded to a FBI database. Bryant’s DNA, which was already in the system, matched DNA recovered from the murder scene. However, the FBI lost several samples of DNA related to the case and potential witnesses died.

“If the government has been reckless… Then under the due process of law the case should be dismissed,” defense attorney Jacqueline Cadman told Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe on May 29. She said the more than two decades delay crippled her client’s ability to mount a defense.

A research biologist from the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Va., who was assigned to the case in 2007, said the sample was not uploaded because a killer was allegedly caught. According to the witness, an agent told her Daryl Turner,  who was a serial murderer, was suspected in Johnson’s case. At the time, Turner was being prosecuted for an unrelated crime.

DNA collected from the scene excluded Turner as a possible suspect. The other suspects included Johnson’s boyfriend and a man who confessed to the killing while confined at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, DC’s psychiatric hospital. The man later retracted his confession.

Bryant’s motion hearing is scheduled to continue on June 13.

Judge Deems Defendant Threat to Society

A murder defendant charged with shooting a married couple in the parking lot of their apartment complex was denied bond on June 1.

Alonzo Lewis is charged with two counts of first-degree murder while armed and assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill. He allegedly shot Jaquon Helm and his wife Venius Badgett on May 16 on the 50th block of Galveston Street, SW.

Lewis “has a history of assaultive behavior,” DC Superior Court Judge Sherry Trafford said June 1. “And he is a danger to the community.”

According to the DC Medical Examiner, Helm, 40, and Badgett, 35, were shot multiple times.  Helm was pronounced dead on the scene and Badgett died at a local hospital early the next morning.

The shooting came after an alleged altercation between Lewis, 33, and the couple.

Badgett and Helm had five children and were married for six years. None of the children were harmed during the homicide.

Lewis is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 15.

Defendant Pleads Not Guilty to Fatally Shooting Teen

During his arraignment May 31, a juvenile pleaded not guilty to fatally shooting a fellow classmate from Ballou Senior High School.

Sixteen-year-old Daquan Gray was charged as an adult after allegedly shooting Jaylyn Wheeler  on the 600 block of Alabama Ave., SE on May 16. The homicide stemmed from an earlier dispute at Ballou Senior High School when another student allegedly threatened Wheeler, 15, according to court documents.

The homicide marks the fourth juvenile murder this year.

Defense counsel requested Gray be released to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). Gray’s attorney argued he wasn’t a flight risk because he turned himself in on May 30.

DC Superior Court Judge Errol R. Arthur refused to release him.

“He is a flight risk and a danger to the community,” Arthur said. “His mother has a warrant for failure to appear in court, what would stop him from doing the same?”

Gray is being held without bond and will go before DC Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe on June 11 for a preliminary hearing.

Defense Requests to Try Murder Defendants, Separately

In light of contaminated evidence, defense counsel requested to try two murder defendants, separately .

Joseph Brown and Rondell Mcleod are charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Antwan Baker on November 12, 2015, on the 5300 Block of Clay Terrace, NE. According to court documents, the two confronted Baker and his brother, who were selling PCP, an hallucinatory drug, when a shootout began. The brother survived.

According to ballistics evidence, the homicides were committed with the same gun — a .10 mm pistol. The defense said they will retest ballistics and present the results at a status hearing on June 15.

According to the prosecution, DNA on one of the casings matched McLeod. But, the casing was contaminated during the extraction process.

DC Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff said May 30 that trying these two suspects together for first-degree murder wouldn’t make sense due to the tainted evidence. Bartnoff said there was a possibility that the jury could become biased towards both defendants.

“I don’t see the need to try these two together,” Bartnoff said. “The only thing that connects these two individuals is a gun casing. I’m leaning towards granting severance and holding the Brown trial first.”

The judge said she will make her ruling on whether to separate the defendants at a status hearing scheduled for June 27.