Plea Negotiations Ongoing for 2020 Murder Case

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DC Superior Court Judge Milton C. Lee set a date for ongoing negotiations over a global plea deal in a 2020 murder case during a Sept. 23 status hearing.

Mohamed Goodwin, 34, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business in connection to the shooting of 25-year-old Devonte Wilson on the 700 block of Morton Street, NW.

The plea deal would cover two cases, including the current murder case and another firearm possession charge.

In the murder case, Goodwin rejected the prosecution’s original plea offer on June 16, and a counter offer was made by the defense on July 20. During the Friday hearing, defense attorney Lee A. Smith III requested another date for further discussion.

The prosecution made a final note as the hearing came to a close about a 2013 homicide case in which the murder defendant did not accept a “plea offer similar to Goodwin’s.” Instead, he was given a sentence that was 20 years longer.

The prosecution said if the 2013 defendant accepted the plea offer, he would have been released last Friday. He concluded that the murder defendant eventually committed suicide while being held in jail.

On Dec. 3, 2020, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers were dispatched in reference to a traffic incident. Upon arrival, officers found Wilson inside a vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck, unconscious and not breathing. Wilson succumbed to his injuries the next day. Goodwin was arrested later that month.

The hearing to further discuss plea negotiations is set for Nov. 4.