Parties in Felony Case Proceed to Trial

By Marta Fernandez [former] - April 21, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects |

On April 21, a defendant was scheduled for a trial readiness hearing to discuss witnesses for his upcoming trial. 

Clement Austin, 38, is charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of unregistered ammunition, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and possession of an unregistered firearm. On Feb. 9, 2020, a call regarding the sound of five gunshots was reported to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on the 5800 block of Foote Street, NE. 

During the April 21 hearing, counsel said they were ready to move forward with the trial. 

The prosecution said they filed a request that allows litigators to seek to exclude certain evidence from being presented to a jury.

The defense said they were prepared to file an opposition to said motion but did not disclose why.

According to court documents, MPD officers arrived on the scene when a woman ran towards them, telling them that her nephew, Austin, was the one shooting. After the officers canvassed the location, they apprehended the defendant. 

The woman also told officers that Austin had gotten into a verbal altercation that did not become physical, over cigarettes. He then went to the front of the location listed and brandished a weapon and began to fire the weapon straight up into the air. 

The prosecution said they plan to call four to five witnesses, which will take two days to present. The defense plans to take two hours for their case and call zero to four witnesses. 

D.C. Superior Court Judge Arthur Errol scheduled three motion hearings for April 27, April 28, and May 1.