Prelim for Murder Defendant Pushed to Late July

By Lizzie Brennan [former] , Will Lawrence [former] - June 29, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects |

A DC Superior Court judge continued a June 28 preliminary hearing, which was scheduled to determine if a homicide case has enough evidence to go to trial, after the defense attorney said she recently received evidence the night before the proceeding.

Kirk Spencer, 26, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 49-year-old Marcus Covington at a metro station on the 1100 block of Howard Road, SE, on Feb 23. 

Defense attorney Rachel Cicurel said the prosecution submitted additional evidence the night before the preliminary hearing, which gave her little time to prepare.

The additional evidence included the name of a juvenile who Cicurel said also matched the description of the shooter and who lived near Spencer.

The prosecution said they sent the evidence as soon as they obtained it, and did not purposely withhold it.

Due to Spencer having been held at DC Jail since his initial hearing in March and the delay in turning over evidence, Cicurel asked Judge Marisa Demeo to release her client under the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP).

Judge Demeo denied the request out of concern for the community’s safety, but agreed that Spencer should be allowed to have his preliminary hearing “as soon as possible.” She scheduled the hearing to take place on July 23.

Lizzie Brennan and Will Lawrence wrote this article.