A D.C. Superior Court Judge ruled Monday that there is probable cause to believe that two physically disabled men shot and killed Gregory Joyner in Southwest D.C. Nov. 15.
Defendants Carl Purvis and Timothy Foreman appeared before Judge Ann Keary today for a preliminary hearing that lasted for more than four hours and brought into question the reliability of all of the four witnesses’ accounts used in the government’s affidavits in support of arrest warrants for the men.
One witness, defense attorneys for Purvis and Foreman each argued, was not an eye-witness to the shooting itself. Another left out key details of its involvement in the events when interviewed by police. A third recanted its identification of one of the suspects and a fourth did not identify the suspects at all.
One of the witnesses described Foreman “running” from the scene; Foreman has a bone condition, walks with a cane, and was scheduled for surgery at the time of the shooting, his attorney said.
A government prosecutor argued that key parts of each of the witnesses’ testimony corroborated the testimony of others. In her ruling, Keary agreed saying that probable cause exists and declining the defense attorneys efforts to release the men on medical grounds. Both men are struggling with pain management and care while in custody: Foreman because of the bone condition and Purvis is wheelchair bound because of an injury suffered in a shooting.
Keary asked the men’s attorneys to work with jail staff to facilitate their treatment while in custody.
A felony status conference was set for Jan. 21, 2011.
Read the charging documents against Carl Purvis here and Timothy Foreman here.
