Hurricane Sandy has prompted the DC Superior Court to cancel all non-essential hearings Monday, spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz announced Sunday evening. The court’s decision will push back ongoing murder trials like that of Domique Bassil, among other court matters.
The court joins a long list of government agencies, universities and school districts that have announced they will be closed Monday.
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In brief,
A jury found Terrell Wilson, Phillip Swan and Theodore Spencer guilty of murder, conspiracy, burglary and kidnapping in the June 2011 killing of Glenn Scarborough. Sentencing is scheduled for December 19.
Kevon Austin, 18, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the October murder of Gregory Troxler. Austin was ordered held.
Robert Maurice Lesueur was shot dead Monday morning in Southeast D.C. Police have arrested Ariston Jamal Dickson with second-degree murder in connection with the case.
The trial against Dominique Bassil began Tuesday. Bassil is suspected of killing her boyfriend, Vance Harris II, in August 2011. Bassil told police in a videotaped statement that she acted in self-defense. Prosecutors believe Bassil acted out of jealousy, stemming from a wedding the two attended the evening before.
Metropolitan police believe the deaths of Mesfin Nega and Shimelis Yegazu are the result of a murder-suicide.
Anthony Antonio Watts was found shot and killed near the Anacostia Freeway Thursday. Police are looking for a black Toyota Camry with tinted windows and Pennsylvania plates in connection with the case.
Charges against Ray Dicks have been dropped. Dicks was suspected in the October 2011 murder of Eric Kearney.
Prosecutors are aiming for a 21-year prison sentence for Tarkeyshia Brown, who pled guilty in July to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Jawan Parker.
Prosecutors believe Jawan Parker was killed over $10 he owed for a PCP purchase from Tarkeyshia Brown.
Prosecutors said in charging documents that Parker and a friend planned to buy a $20 “dipper” of PCP from Brown, but the friend didn’t have the cash, so Brown received $10 from Parker. Then he broke his promise to share the drugs with Brown.
It was that choice, prosecutors said, that made Brown upset. Read more
Prosecutors have dropped charges against murder suspect Ray Allen Dicks, freeing Dicks after 11 months in DC jail.
Judge William Jackson signed an order releasing Dicks Oct. 19; ten months earlier Jackson had found “substantial probability” in the case against the 22-year-old.
Dicks was accused of killing 24-year-old Eric Dionte Kearney, shooting him multiple times on Oct. 17, 2011, near Truxton Circle. In an indictment, Dicks was charged with first-degree murder while armed and three weapons violations.
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With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the District of Columbia, schools and government agencies throughout the region face the prospect of power outages or disrupted services.
Hurricane Sandy produced strong winds and waves as it passed over the United States Navy Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Now the storm is on its way to the DC region. (United States Navy photo/Flickr)
District of Columbia Superior Court spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz says it’s too soon to know how the inclement weather will impact court operations next week.
In an email, she said it’s possible that the courthouse could open late or close except for essential proceedings. Those would include adult arraignments, juvenile referrals and 3-, 5- and 10-day hold hearings that were previously scheduled. The court is required by law to hold those hearings within certain timeframes, Gurowitz said.
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Police identified Anthony Antonio Watts, 31, also known as Buck, as the victim of a homicide Thursday afternoon.
Officers responded to a reported shooting at 36th Street and Benning Road Northeast Thursday at 12:39 p.m.
Watts’ body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, where he was pronounced dead.
Police believe a black Toyota Camry with tinted windows and Pennsylvania license plates may be connected to the crime, according to the Washington Post. The vehicle was seen leaving the scene with two people in the car and entering the nearby Anacostia Freeway.
A statement from MPD is below the jump: Read more
Each Friday, Homicide Watch brings you a list of upcoming hearings in the cases we follow. All hearings are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted. To add an item to the listing, email homicidewatchdc [at] gmail.com. To see scheduled court hearings beyond next week, see our calendar.
On Monday, Robert Carter will appear before Judge Thomas Motley for a mental observation hearing. Carter is suspected of murdering his 13-year-old daughter Angel Morse in 2010. Carter’s trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 5.
Alex Jerome Cater will appear on Thursday before Judge Motley for a felony status conference. Prosecutors say Cater, 31, killed 56-year-old Leroy Studevant early in the morning on Dec. 31, 2011 in Marvin Gaye Park, but Cater has not yet been indicted for the crime. Officers arrested him May 18.
Also in Judge Motley’s courtroom Thursday, Terry Terrell Johnson will appear for a trial readiness hearing. Johnson is suspected of killing Andre Wiggins Oct. 26, 2011 after what prosecutors describe as a feud between the two men. Johnson’s trial is scheduled to begin in February.
Please remember that court dates can change, even at the last minute. To view the docket of a case please go to the D.C. Courts website and search by the defendant’s name.
A man was shot and killed near the Anacostia Freeway Thursday afternoon. Reports say another man got out of a car and shot him, then drove off.
The Washington Times reports police are looking for a “black four-door Toyota Camry with Pennsylvania license plates.” Read more
Joseph Spinks was sentenced last month to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder and obstruction of justice in the killing of 29-year-old Delonte Butler.
According to court records, around 3:00 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2010, Spinks shot Butler in the face with a rifle while Butler was sitting inside a vehicle in the 3700 block of First Street Southeast, and the car drifted off the road and collided with a tree. Spinks then met up with his co-defendent, Phillip Crooms, and asked him if he wanted to “see a dead body.” Read more
Caleb gobezie writes in about the deaths of Mesfin Nega and Shimelis Yegazu, both of whom died in August in what police are calling a homicide-suicide.
It was a mercy killing to take him out of his misery. I know them both. They are family friends and we were all sad about it but that was what mesfin wanted. He was so miserable cuz he couldn’t walk move his hands or anything but that was his best friend.
If you knew either man, we invite you to share memories here.
