Preliminary Hearing for Homicide Defendant Begins

By D.C. Witness Staff - March 12, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

March 12 marked the first day of a hearing to determine if a murder case has enough evidence to go to trial.

Marvin Smith, 29, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting of 41-year-old Eugene Miller on Oct 9, 2020, on the 2400 block of Elvans Road, SE. 

At the start of the hearing, defense attorney Jason Tulley requested the name of one of the prosecutions’ undisclosed witnesses to cross-examine due to their importance in the case. 

“If you hear the witness, your honor, you will not find probable cause,” he told DC Superior Court Judge Yvonne Williams.

From the interview transcript between the persecution’s witness and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detectives, the witness repeatedly asked about a monetary reward for giving information about the incident.

Tulley said the witness’ statement is questionable due to a possible motive to agree with the government for reward benefits.

Later in the preliminary hearing, an MPD detective said revenge was a probable motive for the homicide. The detective said he believes Smith stole something from the victim months prior. The victim was allegedly fighting with Smith when he was shot.

The detective also noted that the undisclosed witness revealed that Smith said he was the shooter.

After receiving a search warrant, police found a gun in Smith’s home, but it did not match the shell cases from the scene of the crime. There was also no blood found on Smith’s clothing nor any physical evidencing linking the defendant to the shooting. 

Due to time constraints, the proceeding did not finish. Judge Williams scheduled the hearing to pick back up on March 23.

Sarah Gebrengus wrote this article.