Prosecutors failed to meet the baseline standard of probable cause in a juvenile shooting incident at Union Station according to a ruling by DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz on March 2. However, the case remains under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A juvenile defendant, 17, was originally charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with intent to murder while armed, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. These charges stem from his alleged involvement in a shooting on Feb. 6 outside of Union Station at the unit block of Massachusetts Ave, NE. A juvenile victim sustained one shot to his foot in a confrontation between rival groups of youth.
At that point, the defendant was originally charged under Title 16, which allows juveniles to be tried as adults for certain serious offenses.
Previously, the prosecution attempted to establish a connection between a robbery on Feb. 5, the day before the incident, and the shooting because many of the same individuals were involved.
Defense attorney Terrence Austin questioned a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective about the robbery and asserted that the incidents were not related because the defendant and the victim were not involved in the robbery. The detective however, believed they were connected because some individuals were involved in both incidents.
The defense then used surveillance footage to show that the victim and the defendant were supposedly in two different groups, before, after and during the shooting. Before the incident, surveillance footage showed the victim punching a person identified as the defendant twice inside of Union Station. The victim’s group was larger, and appeared to then follow the defendant’s group outside of Union Station, while mocking them.
The prosecution played a police interview that the defendant, where he claimed that he wasn’t the shooter and had never held a gun saying that “[his] truth” was the truth.
Additionally, the prosecution played a video of the victim discussing the incident while in an ambulance after getting shot. The detective explained that the victim said he was in the Union Station McDonald’s when his friends began to confront another group. The victim’s group reportedly wanted to fight inside the station, whereas the other group wanted to take the fight outside. After throwing a punch, the victim says he stepped outside and was shot.
The defense then called an investigative specialist for the Public Defender Service (PDS), who worked with Austin on the case. The investigator used a tool to measure the distance between the defendant and the victim at the time of the shooting. The distance between the defendant’s location at the intersection of North Capitol Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NE, and the victim’s location at a road sign on the unit block of Massachusetts Avenue, NE, was approximately 121.1 feet, not in close proximity.
The prosecution challenged the investigator’s determination by using video footage recovered from a Tesla, arguing that the victim’s position was not completely in line with the road sign, making the measurement inaccurate.
The prosecution argued for probable cause, claiming that the actions of the victim and his group of friends did not justify the degree of force used by the defendant. Additionally, the prosecution argued that the defendant and his friends beckoned the victim towards the intersection before opening fire.
According to prosecutors, the defendant had sufficient time to flee the scene if he felt threatened, but chose not to.
Austin argued that prosecutors were “cherry picking” only the evidence that supported their case. Austin claimed that the defendant was punched twice in the head, which the victim allegedly admitted on video, and was pursued by a “mob” down the street.
Thus, the defendant’s actions demonstrated “imperfect self-defense,”weakening the assault with intent to murder charge.
Judge Kravitz described the incident as a “disturbing sequence of events,” saying it reflected poorly on how some parents in DC are raising their children, and that there are “too many guns on our streets.”
However, the judge didn’t find the probable cause given the immediate danger the victim posed to the defendant and his group of peers. Further, Judge Kravitz said the defendant had already been hit in the head by the victim, and was being followed by a group of more than 20 people who were shouting at the defendant in a “menacing” manner.
Due to the defendant’s youth, DC Superior Court lacks jurisdiction over the remaining possession charges, therefore the case will be transferred to juvenile court.
Parties are scheduled to reconvene on March 5 to determine whether they will schedule a hearing in juvenile court.
