DC Superior Court Judge Heide Herrmann denied a shooting defendant’s request for release after he waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Oct. 15.
Xavier Anderson, 23, is charged with aggravated assault knowingly while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in a shooting that injured one on the 600 block of Galveston Street, SE on July 11.
Thomas Lester, Anderson’s defense attorney, alerted the court of his intent to waive the preliminary hearing.
Lester also requested for Anderson to be released with GPS monitoring, arguing that the GPS condition would allow the court to track his location. He said that because Anderson is homeless, he could stay at a local men’s shelter.
The prosecution objected, arguing that Anderson should remain detained for the safety of the community.
The prosecutor said footage of the shooting negates the argument that Anderson acted in self-defense, saying the weight of the evidence is strong.
The prosecution highlighted Anderson’s past, noting he has a “pretty serious” misdemeanor case, violated a previous stay-away order, was convicted for a robbery in 2021, and has two bench warrants.
Lester contended that the actual information of the incident “doesn’t align with the [prosecution’s] argument.”
He said the cartridges that officers recovered from the incident did not match Anderson’s gun, instead matching the firearm of another individual allegedly involved.
Lester added that there was a verbal altercation minutes prior to the shooting
“There’s a greater question here than what the [prosecution] is indicating to the court,” Lester said.
He refuted the prosecution’s point about the stay-away order, saying previous prosecutors withdrew their hold upon discovering Anderson was not in the banned location. He maintained the prosecutor brought up the stay-away order to try to argue Anderson would not comply with any imposed release conditions.
Lester said there is no evidence Anderson brandished a weapon and contended that he was compliant while being arrested.
He argued that there were dissimilarities in describing the shooter because other witnesses detailed a person different than Anderson. He suggested that the complaining witness might have been overwhelmed by the incident and, therefore, pointed out the wrong person.
Lester paraphrased what the other witnesses told officers, saying, “He didn’t do anything. He’s a different guy. He was just confused.”
Judge Herrmann remained concerned by the fact that Anderson illegally possessed a firearm, despite being prohibited, saying the weight of the case is “very strong.”
Judge Herrmann said that, even if the shooting did not happen, he would still be detained because of Anderson’s unlawful possession of a firearm. Therefore, she said she cannot ensure the safety of the community if he was released and he will thus remain detained.
Parties are slated to reconvene Nov. 13.
