Aaron Adams was released today after Judge Gerald Fisher found probable cause—but not the stronger “substantial probability” prosecutors sought—to believe that Adams was the person responsible for fatally stabbing Garrett White Memorial Day weekend in a large fight outside a Georgia Avenue bar.
Adams is suspected of second degree murder. He was arrested after White, lying injured in the street, told officers: “Ace did this to me. He stabbed me.”
Friends of the men, and people who were at the same bar the night of the stabbing, identified Adams as “Ace” to police. Investigators have not yet identified any witnesses to the stabbing.
Fisher rejected the government’s request that he find “substantial probability” in the case, saying White’s is the only identification of Adams as the perpetrator and that that identification is weak because White was likely drinking and fighting the night he was killed. He released Adams, saying that he did not believe he presented a danger to society.
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The 17-year-old accused of fatally shooting Catholic University grad student Neil Godleski is scheduled to stand trial in February.
The teen, Eric Foreman, is charged as an adult. An indictment presented today formally charges Foreman with two counts of first degree murder, one count of robbery while armed, and six firearms crimes.
The trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 6 in Judge Thomas Motley’s courtroom.
“Family friend” wrote in today to ask about Robert Carter, a Northwest DC man suspected of fatally shooting his 13-year-old daughter, Angel Morse, in October 2010.
I want to know what is going on with the Robert Carter case it is now June..has he been convicted yet? Did he get death roll? What is going on?
Mr. Carter, who is now 40 years old, is currently in custody. The Grand Jury has not yet indicted a case against him.
By law, the Grand Jury has nine months from time of arrest to hand up an indictment in a case. In this case, July 29 (roughly) would mark the Grand Jury’s deadline.
An indictment is a formal charge against a person.
A felony status conference is scheduled for July 21. Presumably, if Mr. Carter is going to be charged, it would happen at or around that court appearance.
Usually once a case is charged, a trial date is set.
For more information about DC Superior Court, check out the excellent and easy to read Journalist’s Handbook. (It’s not just for journalists.)
Alphonzo Epps. Glenn Bailey. George White. Garrett White. Lamont Warren. Charles Hicks.
Each of these men were killed in stabbings in DC since May 1.
While gun violence is the predominate cause of homicide in DC, since May the rate of homicides by stabbing has spiked to one in three. Of 18 homicides since May 1, six were stabbings.
Only three fatal stabbings were reported in the District between January and the end of April, a period that recorded 33 homicides.
Stabbing victims in the past two months have also skewed slightly older than other homicide victims in DC this year. While the average age of other victims is roughly 29 years old, the average age of the victims of fatal stabbings in the past two months has been 38.
Explore more DC homicide data in the spreadsheets below.
MPD has identified a man stabbed to death in Southeast DC early in the morning of Sunday June 19 as 53-year-old Charles Hicks.
MPD’s press release is below.
Homicide: 2600 Block of Douglass Road, SE
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating the fatal stabbing which occurred in the 2600 block of Douglass road, SE.
On Sunday, June 19, 2011, at approximately 1:22 am, units from the Seventh District responded to the 2600 block of Douglass road, SE for the report of a stabbing. Upon arriving on the scene, officers located an adult male victim suffering from apparent stab wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel transported the victim to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The decedent has been identified as 53 year-old Charles Hicks of Southeast, Washington, DC.
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Bloggers at watchdog site Who Murdered Robert Wone are reporting that a settlement has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit brought against the men police suspected of killing Wone, a DC attorney.
This tip comes just one day after a private mediation session held with retired Judge Howard Chasanow yesterday, instead of the earlier June 14th mediation lifted by Judge Michael Rankin. Arguments in the case were slate for later this October.
Kathy Wone originally brought the $20 million dollar wrongful death suit on November 25, 2008, around the same time the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges of evidence tampering, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy first against Ward, and later with his two Swann Street house-mates.
As the folks at WMRW point out, in June of last year, Joe Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward were found not guilty in all charges relating to Wone’s death.
UPDATED: USAO corrected the second paragraph of the release with the correct sentencing date.
Kerstan Leonard has been convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Melody Williams at an apartment complex in Southeast DC, the US Attorney’s Office announced this afternoon.
A press release from the USAO is after the jump.
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A jury trial date has been set for the two men accused of killing 17-year-old Springarn High School student Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. in November 2010.
Kwan Kearney and Larnell Allen appeared in court Tuesday for a status conference in the case. Kearney is also suspected in the death of Jamal Wilson, six days after Sharps was killed. Status hearings for both cases were heard together Tuesday.
Kearney and Allen were indicted in Sharps death by the Grand Jury in May, each on one count of first degree murder while armed with the aggravating circumstance that the murder was a drive-by or random shooting. They are both also charged with various counts of unlawful weapon possession and assault with intent to kill and aggravated assault. The assault charges are in connection with Sharps’ friend, who was injured in the same shooting.
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By the prosecutor’s telling of it, an early morning pursuit through Truxton Circle and the ensuing shoot-out that left 19-year-old Jamal Wilson dead started over a beef about a man nicknamed “Psycho.”
Wilson, Assistant US Attorney David Saybolt said Tuesday, was part of the “First and Oak O” crew. A crew that also included Kwan Kearney and Jeremy Risper, the two men suspected in Wilson’s death.
As Saybolt tells the story, “First and Oak O” was having a disagreement. Kearney’s brother and Risper had testified in a murder trial against “Psycho,” and “Psycho” had just been convicted. Some members of “First and Oak O” were upset that the men had worked with prosecutors.
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Kris wrote in about David Andrew Matthews, saying:
Please catch the killer. Mr. Matthews was a beloved teacher. My son loved him as did all of the students at Ft. Hunt Elementary. My condolences to the entire SACC community and David’s family.
