Parties Pause Indictment Deadline for Sex Abuse Defendant Pending Plea Negotiations

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Parties agreed to pause the 90-day indictment deadline to continue plea negotiations for a 19-year-old defendant charged with first-degree sex abuse, kidnapping while armed, and armed carjacking.

On July 11, 2021, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers received a call from a complainant reporting that an unknown individual entered her vehicle, forced her at gunpoint to drive to an alley on the 500 block of Crittenden Street, NW, raped her, and then stole her car.

The unknown individual was identified as the defendant when the DNA profile obtained from the victim’s swab resulted in a match with an arrestee from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division six-months after the incident, according to court documents.

During a hearing on July 26, the prosecutor told DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun she was still in plea negotiations with defense attorney Howard McEachern and requested a continuance for the hearing.

The defendant was detained for this case on Jan. 12. DC law requires criminal defendants to be formally charged within 90-days of their initial detention.

Judge Okun agreed to toll the time for the defendant’s formal indictment until September 23, when the defendant’s next court appearance is scheduled.

The defendant is currently being held at the DC Jail.

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