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Attorneys go head to head in the days leading up to James Anderson murder trial

Less than a week before the start of James Anderson’s murder trial, defense and prosecution attorneys sparred over what information could and could not be included in the trial.

In a status hearing Wednesday, Judge Milton Lee agreed with the defense that an email detailing information of another potential suspect in the murder of Anderson, 27, had been wrongly suppressed from them as they prepared for trial.

The defense attempted to file a motion that would mandate the jury be made aware the prosecution had a role in the suppression of the evidence. Lee shot down the motion immediately, and said the blame for the suppression “laid squarely in the lap of the Metropolitan Police Department.”

According to the defense, the email was written days after Anderson’s death in January 2015 when police say 21-year-old Dujuan Garris shot and killed Anderson in Truxton Circle. However, the defense was only made aware of the email in January 2017, two years after the murder.

The defense argued the late discovery potentially hindered their case because they didn’t have enough time to investigate this potential lead.

According to the prosecution, a detective on the case was approached by a witnesses who allegedly spoke with the mother of decedent’s child and was told Anderson was threatened by a person named Travis. However, the mother of the decedent’s children later recanted that statement.

Garris is being held without bond and is expected to be in court March 6 for the start of his trial.

Documents: Dujuan Garris charging documents

Dujuan Garris was arrested and charged with the alleged murder of James Anderson.

[documentcloud url=”http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2923285-Dujuan-Garris-charging-docs.html”]

Government and defense attorneys begin opening statements in Decuir trial


The government and defense attorneys began opening statements on Wednesday for the trial of Derryck Antjuan Decuir, charged with the alleged murder of Malek Mercer.

In their opening statements on Wednesday, the government detailed the emotional narrative of events that led to Mercer’s shooting.

On the night of June 15, 2015, Mercer and his friend Tyshawn Bethea were dropping off Bethea’s girlfriend at a bus stop. After Bethea’s girlfriend got on the bus, Mercer and Bethea walked towards their bus stop to return to Bethea’s home. While they were waiting on the bus to return home, they were confronted by three men, including Decuir. One of the men asked Bethea for a cigarette and Bethea said no.  Then Mercer and Bethea both got on the bus as well as the three men.

When they got off the bus, Mercer and Bethea noticed that the three men they saw earlier followed them. Decuir approached Mercer and asked him for the Versace red belt he had on and Mercer refused.  Mercer and Decuir continued walking toward their destination. When Bethea turned around he saw one of the men pull out a gun and shoot Mercer.

Bethea ran to his house and called his older brother to ask for help. Bethea’s brother called the police. One of the officers who arrived on the scene, Officer Abrams testified in court that she began to comfort Bethea.

“I just held him he was crying…he looked terrified and begged me to help him. At this time, I became like a mom to him I just held him and began to comfort him,” Abrams said.

The government also said that on that same night, one of the three men was on parole and had a GPS tracker. He did not want to be identified as a suspect, so he called the police to explain what had happened and identified Decuir as the shooter.

 

According to court documents, Decuir had previously pleaded guilty to handgun possession and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was on probation at the time of the shooting. Police charged him with assault and intent to kill while armed, and the charges were upgraded when Mercer died.

The defense attorney however painted another narrative, calling Mercer’s death a tragedy, and not a crime.

“While what happened to Malek Mercer was a tragedy, my client acted in self-defense,” Lee Goebes one of Decuir’s attorneys said.

According to Goebes, Mercer carried a duffle bag with him, which Decuir believed had a gun inside. He also argued that the two men were not following Bethea and Mercer, and they were instead going to 7-11.

The government brought forth witnesses including Mercer’s mother, Sharon Betts and Bethea. When the government showed the video footage from the police department, Bethea identified the man as Decuir.

The trial is currently in progress and will resume on March 2.

Month in Review: February

The first homicide of the month came just hours after the sun set on Feb. 1. Police found 25-year-old Tyronn Hodges’ lifeless body in a car on the 900 block of Eastern Ave. NE.

The suspect, Myshawn Dondre Allen, 23, was arrested on the scene and charged with first-degree murder while armed and assault with intent to kill. Tensions were high during his arraignment Feb. 3 — a fight broke out in the courtroom when Allen was presented in court where he would later be ordered held without bond.

Out of seven homicides, police have made arrests in two cases.

Police are still searching for the person responsible for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Derron Stover, the youngest victim of the month. According to a police spokesperson, police arrived on the 100 block of Burns St., NE and found Stover suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Police are also investigating a shooting that took place two days after Stover’s death. Cheval Reid, 25, was found on Feb. 7 suffering from a gunshot wound on 1500 block of Irving St., NE. Reid was eventually pronounced dead on the scene.

Days later, Fox5DC broke news that Reid had a warrant out for his arrest for a prior robbery, though police said there did not appear to be a connection. The Fox5 story has been removed. 

In the month of February, five homicides occurred in the Northeast quadrant of the city. One homicide occurred in Southeast, and one at the end of the month in Northwest. The streets in Southwest remained silent, following the same pattern as last month.

On Feb. 12, police responded to 3855 Eighth St. SE for reports of 13 gunshots, and there found Kenny Bell unconscious and unresponsive in a puddle of blood. Bell, 30, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Just three days after Valentine’s Day, 63-year-old Walter Clark’s battered body was found stowed in the closet of Thomasine Bennett’s house. Upon police arrival, Bennett admitted to beating Clark with a metal bat and said, “she was tired of loving him.”

In an interview with the Washington Post, family members said they don’t believe Bennett and Clark had a romantic relationship, and instead believe Bennett killed Clark over a $5,200 insurance check.

Clark’s murder is the single trauma-related death of the month.The remaining six homicides were gun-related deaths.

On the same day Clark was found, D.C. lost another member of it’s community. Police found 53-year-old Eric Wright suffering from gunshot wounds on 900 block of 12th St., NE on Feb. 17. Wright was brought to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The nation’s capital had it’s last homicide as the month came to a close. On Feb. 27 police responded to the unit Block of Hanover Place, NW, where they found 31-year-old James Mace suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Mace was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The average victim for February was a 35-year-old male.

By the end of February, D.C. experienced 15 homicides in total as compared to the 18 tallied by this time last year.

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Case Closed

While police were responding to new cases, the courts were putting old cases to rest. Three murder suspects’ were sentenced — all the result of plea bargains.

Lakisha Young, 42, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Young was sentenced to six years in prison for stabbing 50-year-old Alan Smith in July 2016. Young killed her long-time partner in front of their three minor children.

On Feb. 24, 17-year-old Kevin Lee pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a dangerous weapon. Lee was sentenced to 19 years in prison. According to charging documents, in August 2015 Lee fatally shot Tenika Fontanelle, 31, though her 12-year-old son was the intended target.

Malik Fields, 21, will serve 10 years in prison for the fatally shooting his 19-year-old girlfriend Anaiona Gaston over the summer. Fields pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for firing a bullet into Gaston’s forehead as she held their sleeping baby.

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Cold Cases

This month last year nine people were killed. Of those cases, three remain unsolved and without an arrest.

Deandre Sibblies, 21, was fatally shot Feb. 22, 2016 on the 4500 Block of Quarles St., NE.

Police identified 23-year-old Michael Adams as the man fatally shot Feb. 19, 2016 on 900 block of Eastern Ave., NE. Adams was brought to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Jamar Morris, 28, was fatally shot around 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 9, 2016 on 100 block of M St., NW.

A year later, no suspect information has been released for the victims listed above.

31-year-old man found fatally shot in Truxton Circle

Police are investigating a fatal shooting that left a 31-year-old man dead.

According to a police spokesperson, police responded to the unit Block of Hanover Place NW for reports of gunshots.

Upon their arrival, police found James Mace III suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Mace was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Police have not released any suspect information at this time.

Documents: Malik Fields charging documents

Malik Fields was arrested and charged with the murder of Anaiona Gaston.

[documentcloud url=”http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3002210-Malik-Fields-charging-docs.html”]

Malik Fields sentenced to 10 years for girlfriend’s shooting death

Malik Fields, 21, was sentenced Friday for the shooting death of his 19-year-old girlfriend Anaoiona Gaston in July of 2016.

Fields will serve 10 years in prison for the death of Gaston, under the agreement reached in a plea bargain.

Police found Gaston’s body on top of a bed inside Fields’ apartment.

According to charging documents, Fields and Gaston were engaged in a deep conversation about their relationship, when Gaston jokingly began making finger gun motions and saying “pop pop.” Fields told police he pointed his gun at Gaston and said “pop pop” and the gun went off sending a single bullet through Gaston’s forehead. Gaston had been sitting on the bed holding their child in her lap.

Police later found Fields in the apartment with the murder weapon.The defendant was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed.

On Friday, Fields plead to guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Upon the end of his term, Fields is expected to serve five years probation.

Police release video seeking to identity two men of interest


Police are circulating a video with hopes of identifying two people of interest wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of 53-year-old Eric Linnair Wright.

Eric Wright was shot and killed on Friday February 17. He was unresponsive as police arrived at the scene and suffering from a gunshot wound on the 900 block of 12th Street, NE at around 9:30 p.m.

Wright was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.

Teen who killed mother of two sentenced to 19 years

A teenager who aimed to shoot at 12-year-old but instead struck and killed the boy’s mother, was sentenced to 19 years in prison as part of a plea deal on Friday.

Kevin Lee, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was sentenced to 15 years for voluntary manslaughter while armed and four years for assault with a dangerous weapon for the killing of Tenika Fontanelle. Fontanelle, a mother of two, was shot inside her home on August 18, 2015.

According to the prosecutor, Fontanelle’s 12-year-old son and Lee were involved in a fight earlier in the day. Fontanelle’s son and his friends were taunting Lee, and threw rocks and sticks at him. Lee returned to his home, retrieved a gun out of his bedroom and went to Fontanelle’s home, intending to shoot the 12-year-old. Lee, the 12-year-old and Fontanelle were all shot in the altercation inside the home. Lee told police that he and Fontanelle were fighting, and she may have shot herself. Both Lee and Fontanelle’s son survived. 

After further investigation, Lee was arrested and police found multiple other guns and ammunition in his room, leading to additional charges.  According to the prosecutor, Lee had also made threats to kill the 12-year-old several months prior. 

Lee pleaded guilty to the charges last November.

During sentencing, the victim’s mother told the judge Lee deserves more than 20 years. Fontanelle’s brother, Tayvon Johnson, who now takes care of Fontanelle’s children testified, and spoke of how the children will miss their mother on every holiday, and will live with the day they saw their mother killed.

Lee, who is the father of a 2-year-old apologized to the family, and said it was a mistake. He lamented that his own son will not have a father growing up. 

After the sentencing, emotional family members on both sides starting arguing and fighting. US Marshals escorted everyone out of the courtroom.