BREAKING! Teen Accused In Brookland Metro Shooting To Face Trial In July, Remains In Custody

Washington – A 16-year-old boy was ordered by a juvenile court judge to stay in jail on Friday. The boy is accused of being involved in the April 14 shooting death of a 14-year-old middle school student at the Brookland Metro station.

At the hearing, the sixteen-year-old was seated close to his defense attorneys. The D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services facility, where he is being held, has been the subject of reports of three children being assaulted and suffering serious injuries.

The attorneys contended that these reports, along with “rumors” of fentanyl distribution at the facility, should result in his release.

The youngster “is not a danger, but he is in a dangerous place right now,” according to the lawyers, who expressed “serious security concerns” about the institution due to the boy’s lack of violent past.

The 14-year-old may have been slain by someone else, according to information provided by the boy’s counsel, among other arguments in favor of the boy’s release from custody. On the other hand, the 16-year-old defendant was shown on camera “shooting in a crowded Metro [station] in broad daylight,” according to the prosecution.

In the end, the judge agreed with the prosecution that the boy ought to remain under arrest.

He is charged in connection with the April 4 fatal shooting of 14-year-old Avion Evans, a student at Ida B. Wells Middle School, on the Brookland Metro platform following a brawl that the 16-year-old was not initially involved in.

Evans participated in the altercation and was battling a person that the police suspect to be the 16-year-old defendant’s friend. Evans stopped fighting, at which point the 16-year-old allegedly pulled out a revolver and shot Evans in the chest.

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Juveniles must get a trial within 45 days of the offense, according to the law, however, it was disclosed in court on Friday that this case will not proceed due in part to the judge’s busy schedule and the delay in receiving the autopsy report.

There are 13 open judge posts in the Superior Court out of 62 total, according to a D.C. Court System spokesperson. Just two judges remain to oversee juvenile calendars as a result.

In the instance of the sixteen-year-old, Judge Kendra Davis Briggs, her summer schedule was so packed with trials and hearings that the earliest date she could set for the boy’s trial was July 5.

The trial will probably be divided up and held on days when Briggs is not already booked for other hearings and trials, as is sometimes the case in juvenile court. This means that it won’t go on for the entire number of days needed to complete the case.

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She set it up on Friday to begin on July 5, perhaps pick back up on July 10 and 11, continue on July 12, and not resume until August 1. It might not be over until early September, depending on how many days the trial takes.

The boy’s attorneys asked Briggs if it would be possible to make the days consecutive, but she stated she had no flexibility to do so unless her calendar changed because she already had a lengthy trial for another juvenile defendant in custody set for July 15–31, in addition to other planned trials and hearings.

In exchange for not identifying the 16-year-old or disclosing any information that would lead to his identity, 7News was granted access to the juvenile courthouse.

The Court of Appeals now has seven judges instead of nine, with one post empty since 2013. This information was provided by Doug Buchanan, a spokesman for the D.C. courts system.

In D.C., unlike other parts of the nation, the U.S. Senate must approve judges before they may take on local cases. Six of the 11 nominations that are presently pending in the Senate are said to be awaiting a vote, according to Buchanan.