A shooting defendant was denied release after he waived his right to a preliminary hearing before DC Superior Court Heide Herrmann on Oct. 21.
Delon King, 19, is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in a shooting that injured three individuals on the busy corridor of 900 block of U Street, NW, on May 11, 2025.
Judge Herrmann noted that a waiver of preliminary hearing was submitted by the defense. King’s attorney, Quo Meiko Judkins, explained that the waiver was being submitted in light of a pre-preliminary plea he had been considering, although the terms of the plea were not discussed. The waiver was accepted.
Judkins requested King’s release pending his next hearing. She cited King’s lack of prior convictions and the fact that the individual allegedly shot by King fully recovered. Judkins also highlighted that King had two jobs anticipating his return.
Furthermore, Judkins argued DC Superior Court Judge Deborah Israel previously released King’s co-defendant, 20-year-old Davian Raines, who allegedly confessed to his involvement in the shooting.
The prosecutor, however, stated that the facts of the case were severe, thus King should be held to ensure the safety of the public.
King allegedly shot several rounds into a crowd of hundreds of people, which led to a juvenile’s being hit. Furthermore, the gun allegedly found on King during his arrest matched the shell casings found at the scene of the incident, according to the prosecution. A jail call between Raines and King also revealed King supposedly saying that he shot twice that day and did not shoot more because his gun jammed.
After hearing the facts of the case, Judge Herrmann decided to hold King in jail.
Judge Herrmann insisted that it was lucky that no deaths were caused by the shooting, but this luck did not undermine the dangerousness of the situation. She determined that there were no conditions of release that could ensure the safety of the community.
The parties are slated to reconvene on Oct. 28.
