On Feb.8, Judge Judith Bartnoff said she expects a triple homicide trial against an alleged drug dealer to end next week. The trial began on Jan. 23.
Benito Valdez is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly fatally shooting Curtis Pixley, 29, Keith Simmons, 24, and Samantha Gillard, 23, on April 23, 1991.
During the fourth week of trial, the defense is expected to call their final witnesses on Feb. 12. Closing arguments are expected on Feb. 13.
An expert witness for the defense was discredited Feb. 7 during a 1991 triple homicide trial.
Ross Gardner, a crime scene analyst who created a report on the shootings, told the jury how he used trigonometry to determine where the shooter was in relation to the victims. He said, based on the wounds, it was impossible for the shooter to be behind the victims when they were shot.
However, the prosecution revealed errors in Gardner’s report.
Assistant United States Attorney Laura Bach said Gardner attributed some wounds with the wrong caliber and mislabeled two wounds found on Curtis Pixley‘s body.
“There were many mistakes, [Bach] didn’t even get to all of them,” Gardner said. “I was required to put together this report in three days.”
On Feb. 6, officer James Fields testified about a bag of crack cocaine that was found in Samantha Gillard‘s jacket pocket. Even though the same jacket had previously been processed and inspected by three other investigators, Fields said the drugs were found in 1992 by an unidentified FBI investigator.
Benito Valdez is charged with first-degree murder while armed for fatally shooting Pixley, 29; Gillard, 23; and Keith Simmons, 24. The trial is expected to continue on Feb. 7.
On the third day of a 2015 murder trial, Ray Andre Harrison’s girlfriend testified about the events that occurred on the night he was shot.
According to the girlfriend, her best friend came into town for a surprise visit and met Harrison that night. She said they wanted to show her a good time, so they decided to go to Davon Peyton’s house to get marijuana. Peyton was Harrison’s alleged dealer.
Harrison’s girlfriend said that he called Peyton, 27, “at least two times” before they decided to go to his residence, but Peyton never answered the phone.
The girlfriend said, when Peyton answered door, the two men got into an arguement. She said she heard Harrison tell Peyton to calm down before she heard a gunshot.
Assistant United States Attorney Katie Earnest played the 911 call for the jury. Peyton is heard in the background telling Harrison’s girlfriend to give a different address to the dispatcher. The girlfriend said Peyton fled the scene following the shooting.
Peyton’s attorneys, Joseph Wong and Matthew Davies, prodded the girlfriend about whether Harrison had been drinking that night. She confirmed that he was.
The defense team also emphasized that the girlfriend never actually saw Peyton point the gun.
The girlfriend did confirm that after Harrison was shot, Peyton apologized, tried to help Harrison, and told them to call an ambulance.
Peyton is currently charged with second-degree murder while armed. The trial is expected to continue on Feb. 8.
James Swann Jr. is requesting conditional release from the district’s psychiatric facility, again.
Swann, 53, was found not guilty by reason of insanity to 32 charges in a 1993 murder spree in the Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant areas of Washington, D.C. According to news reports, four people died and several others were wounded throughout the rampage that lasted for several months. Swann has been held a St. Elizabeths Hospital, D.C.’s public psychiatric facility, since the the verdict in 1994.
Kimberly Clarke, Swann’s defense attorney, addressed Chief Judge Robert Morin Feb.7 about a motion she filed on Dec. 28, 2017, to allow Swann to hold employment in the community and visit family members. According to Clarke, Swann has completed the employment readiness program at St. Elizabeths.
However, according to a Feb. 2 letter from the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health, the hospital opposes the motion for conditional release.
“The Hospital is unable to support [Swann’s] request to visit his sister and family in the community as the family has not been involved in his treatment and has not had contact with members of the treatment team. Employment in the community cannot be supported , at this time, as Mr. Swann remains on two-to-one supervision when entering the community with Hospital staff,” the letter said.
Swann is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, antisocial and narcissistic personality disorder.
Similar motions for Swann to visit his father and mother were filed in 2017 and 2011, respectively. The motions were denied.
The court scheduled Swann’s readiness and evidentiary hearings in September, where the motion will be decided. Lawyers of the defense and prosecution said they expect the evidentiary hearing to last several days.
Montez Warren pled guilty Feb. 5 to second-degree murder while armed in the shooting death of Dante Miller.
According to the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, if accepted by the court, Warren, 36, would face a potential sentence between 15-20 years in prison. Warren is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27, 2018.
On Aug. 21, 2016, Warren fatally shot Miller, 27, eight times while at a cookout on the 1200 block of 18th Place, NE. Warren was arrested on Oct. 12, 2016.
Davon Peyton, who was charged with second-degree murder while armed, will face a jury of 11 women and three men.
Peyton, 27, is on trial for allegedly killing 21-year-old Ray Andre Harrison. The trial began on Feb. 5.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Fischer said Peyton shot Harrison in a fit of rage.
Fischer said Harrison and his girlfriend, along with his girlfriend’s friend, drove to Peyton’s house, where he lived with his girlfriend and her 7-year-old daughter, in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2015.
Fischer said the incident happened when Harrison knocked on Peyton’s window and door, provoking him to go outside with a handgun. From there, a verbal altercation turned physical and Harrison punched Peyton.
Peyton allegedly shot Harrison in the chest and fled the scene, Fischer said. She said police located and arrested Peyton one week later on Nov. 21, 2015, at another girlfriend’s house. Police also found the handgun stashed under a pile of clothes in a closet in the house.
Fischer said the prosecution would call eyewitnesses along with a crime scene analyst, DNA analyst, and a firearms examiner. She said the evidence would prove Peyton’s guilt to the jury.
Peyton’s attorney, Joseph Wong, told a different story.
According to Wong, Peyton didn’t try to kill or hurt Harrison. Wong said Peyton was jolted awake by banging on his window in the middle of the night and grabbed his gun for protection.
According to Wong, Harrison began assaulting Peyton at his doorstep. Wong said that as the physical altercation unfolded, Peyton’s gun went off accidentally.
“This was not a murder,” Wong told the jury. “This was a tragic accident.”
Wong said the defense would call a DNA expert and a toxicology expert to prove that Harrison was intoxicated on the night of his death.
The trial is scheduled to continue on Feb. 7.
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested Feb. 6 the alleged killer of Dante Coleman.
According to MPD, Ricardo Daquan Boston was taken into custody after being extradited back to D.C. in pursuance of an arrest warrant. Information on how he was apprehended is not available. Boston, 23, is charged with second-degree murder while armed.
Officers found Coleman, 20, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on the 3900 block of First Street, SE on Dec. 29, 2017. He died at a local hospital.
A court date has not been scheduled, at this time, for the suspect.
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred inside a residence on the 2300 block of 11th Street, NW, on Feb. 5.
According to the MPD, officers found Michael Mahoney unconscious and suffering from multiple stab wounds. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services reported that Mahoney, 71, did not show any signs of life.
MPD is currently offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction on this homicide or any other homicide in D.C.
The ex-girlfriend of Benito Valdez, who is currently on trial for a triple homicide in 1991, testified Feb. 5 about her violent relationship with the defendant.
The ex-girlfriend told the jury that Valdez told her about the homicides of Curtis Pixley, 29; Keith Simmons, 24; and Samantha Gillard, 23, to threaten her.
She said he told her about the homicides when he thought she was cheating. The ex-girlfriend said Valdez told her that after killing three people he could kill her easily.
She said Valdez mentioned the homicides about six or seven times during their relationship. He would bring them up whenever he became angry, the ex-girlfriend said.
She said Valdez told her that Michael Green, the second suspect arrested in the case, and Black Harry, the driver of the getaway car, were also on the scene when he allegedly shot the three people.
“It was a very unhealthy relationship, one that I blocked so deep inside me,” she said.
Valdez and his ex-girlfriend dated at some point in 1997 and then, after a few years apart, they lived together from 2000 to about 2002. She said she suffers with memory loss from a car accident in 2009, so she cannot recall the exact time period she and Valdez were together.
Valdez is charged with first-degree murder while armed. He was arrested in 2016.
The trial is expected to continue on Feb. 6.
The jury trial for Dominique Williams was postponed until the week of Feb. 12.
Williams, 24, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for the 2015 homicide of Marcellus Green, 39.
Judge Judith Bartnoff asked witnesses to return on Feb. 13.
Bartnoff pushed the trial back because she is currently dealing with a 1991 triple homicide murder trial for Benito Valdez. Valdez’s trial began on Jan. 23.
Judge Danya Dayson pushed jury selection to Feb. 6 for the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Ray Andre Harrison.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Davon Peyton shot Harrison in the chest on the 1300 block of Adams Street, NE on Nov. 13, 2015. Peyton was charged with second-degree murder while armed. The trial officially started on Feb. 5.
Assistant United States Attorneys Katie Earnest and Jennifer Fischer announced they would be introducing evidence that Peyton, 27, was in possession of a gun illegally at the time of the homicide. The prosecution said they planned on using testimony from a former girlfriend to prove that Peyton possessed a gun illegally since June of 2015. The prosecution also said they planned on using an incident in 2009 where the ex-girlfriend accused Peyton of assaulting her with a gun.
Unaware of the fact that the prosecution planned to use the ex-girlfriend’s testimony in their argument, Matthew Davies and Joseph Wong, Peyton’s defense team, asked Judge Dayson to either not allow the testimony or grant them extra time to present a rebuttal.
Judge Dayson gave the defense team one more day to prepare a response to the girlfriend’s testimony. Judge Dayson also ruled that the 2009 incident with the girlfriend could not be addressed because the case is old.
A man was fatally stabbed in downtown D.C. over the weekend.
On Feb. 3, Gregory Monroe, 56, was found with apparent stab wounds in a residence on the 400 block of H Street, NW.
The homicide is under investigation, but the Metropolitan Police Department has not released any information on a suspect or suspects at this time.
A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction for this homicide or any other homicide in D.C.
Convicted second-degree murderer Maurice Blakey was sentenced to 22 years Feb. 2.
After his prison sentence, Blakey, 25, will be required to serve five additional years under supervised release and register as a gun offender.
In November of 2017, Blakey pled guilty to second-degree murder for fatally shooting Timothy Spicer on Nov. 17, 2007, while attempting to steal Spicer’s car at the Anacostia Metro Station in Southeast D.C.
As part of a plea deal, a 2015 homicide, where Blakey was charged with allegedly shooting 28-year-old Gregory Lee, was dismissed.
Members of both Spicer and Lee’s families were in the courtroom. Spicer’s mother told Judge Judith Bartnoff about her son, who had worked at Ben’s Chili Bowl prior to his death, was “a really lovable man.”
“I just want the punishment to fit the crime,” Spicer’s mother said.
A D.C. resident, who spent the majority of his life on the 1100 block of Queen Street, NE, was found to have probable cause in setting a fire on the same street that was responsible for killing a 66-year-old man.
Taylor Garrett was arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of Ayele Awlachew on Dec. 15, 2017. According to the D.C. Office of the Medical Examiner, Awlachew died on Jan. 26, 2017, from soot and smoke inhalation combined with multiple contusions of blunt force trauma.
According to testimony from Metropolitan Police Department Detective Robby Lawrence, several witnesses identified Taylor, who was a known drug dealer and user, and reported that he forcefully took over the apartment that Awlachew shared with two other men. Lawrence said people frequented the apartment, conducting drug and other illegal activities, at all hours of the day and night.
One of the reasons for probable cause in Judge Ronna Beck’s decision came from reports that police smelled smoke on Taylor’s clothing. When questioned about the smell, Taylor told the police he was allegedly pepper sprayed, but that could not be corroborated.
Lawerence said a witness testified that noises and other sounds of commotion were coming from Awlachew’s apartment. The witness used an umbrella to bang on the ceiling, in which the noise settled, but then the witness smelled smoke.
According to the defense team, Taylor did not have a motive to commit the homicide. The defense referenced a statement Taylor made hours earlier that seemed as if he was trying to stop someone from setting a fire in Awlachew’s apartment. The defense used this example to show that Taylor was more protective of the victim than he was aggressive.
The defense also presented the theory, referencing a lighter in Awlachew’s hand, that he started the fire accidentally. Awlachew was a known drug user.
Judge Beck dismissed the theory, saying the lighter in Awlachew’s hand, while he laid on a make shift bed, was not near the closet where the fire started.
Judge Beck denied bail based on Taylor’s criminal history and a recommendation from pretrial services that said the community would not be safe if he was released.
Taylor is scheduled for a felony status conference on May 18. The case is still waiting to be presented to a grand jury.
Judge Juliet McKenna said Feb. 2, the prosecution along with Metropolitan Police Department Detective Gabriel Truby presented enough evidence to find substantial probability for Kevin Lamont Smith to stand trial.
Smith, 47, is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 55-year-old Valerie Regina Coleman on Dec. 2, 2017.
McKenna said that although there was no clear evidence of a motive, there was evidence that could show Smith committed the murder.
The judge cited Truby’s testimony that Smith’s girlfriend reported being awaken that morning by Smith tapping a gun on her head, telling her to check on her mother.
McKenna also referenced an altercation that another witness reported between Smith and his girlfriend.
“If I got to go, she got to go,” Smith apparently told his girlfriend when he was asked to leave the residence located on the 1700 Block of 16th Street, SE, the night before the homicide.
Even though the defense team argued that there were too many inconsistencies with timing and the girlfriend’s statements to find probable cause, McKenna said her ruling was based on the fact that shell casings found near the victim’s bed and inside the body bag matched the type of gun, a .380 semi-automatic, found on Smith when he was arrested.
McKenna said that when Smith told his girlfriend to check on her mother, he could have been admitting guilt. She said that it is reasonable to infer that Smith could have killed the girlfriend’s mother to hurt her.
Smith rejected the prosecution’s plea deal that would have reduced the possibility of his sentence from 60 years-to-life to 40 years-to-life.
A felony status conference is scheduled for April 13.
