Non-Fatal Shooting Defendant Accepts Plea Offer 

By Ashley Fajardo Perez [former] - February 10, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On Feb. 9, a shooting defendant accepted an offer to plead guilty to two counts related to a non-fatal shooting incident before DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan.

Eric Lemus, 20, was originally charged with assault with intent to kill while armed against a minor, aggravated assault knowingly while armed against a minor, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, in addition to other counts, for his involvement in an incident that occurred on March 22, 2023, on the 1000 block of Park Road, NW.

During the hearing, Lemus accepted an offer, which required him to plead guilty to one count of assault with intent to kill while armed and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, in exchange for a dismissal of all other charges.

According to the prosecution, had the case gone to trial, they would have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that, on the day of the incident, Lemus was the individual responsible for the non-fatal shooting, citing they would have presented several witnesses who identified Lemus as the shooter.

While both parties were scheduling a sentence hearing, Lemus’ defense attorneys, Steven Ogilvie and Shawn Sukumar, asked to delay the hearing by two or three months because they would like the court to receive and consider reports on Lemus’ education and a second evaluation regarding PTSD and trauma. 

The prosecution had no objections, however, expressed plans to proceed with scheduling a sentence hearing in the standard eight weeks. 

The prosecution reasoned that they would like to bring closure to the victims, stating, “We understand that the defendant is young, but the victims are even younger.”

Judge Raffinan ultimately decided to delay Lemus’ sentencing hearing to July.

Next hearing is scheduled for April 12.