DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz urged parties to continue plea negotiations during a hearing for a shooting defendant on Feb. 6.
Demarco Bates, 28, is charged with four counts of assault with intent to kill, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction greater than a year, two counts of destruction of property less than $1000, and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance for his alleged involvement in a shooting that occurred on the 2700 block of Langston Place, SE, on April 10, 2024. One person sustained a gunshot graze wound to her foot.
At the hearing, the prosecution said they extended a plea offer to Bates that would require him to plead guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. They said they offered Bates two agreed upon sentence options, either eight years of incarceration or between seven-to-10 years.
Bates’ attorney, Alvin Thomas, said his client would accept a sentence of seven years in the plea deal. However, he is worried about the seven-to-10 year offer because of the “big gap” in the sentence length.
Judge Kravitz asked the prosecution if they would be open to re-negotiating the plea deal to a seven-to-eight year for the sentence. The prosecutor said they would need to speak with their supervisor about the possibility, but would hopefully have an answer soon.
Parties are set to reconvene on Feb. 10 for updates on the plea negotiations.
