Judge John Ramsey Johnson released Lennard Sweeney from custody Friday while he awaits a preliminary hearing.
Sweeney is suspected of first-degree murder while armed in connection with the stabbing death of Edward Eugene Hall Jr. He will be required to make weekly in-person check-ins to Pretrial Services.
On September 9, police found Hall stabbed in the 4000 block of 1st Street Southeast bleeding from the abdomen. According to charging documents, two witnesses eventually identified Sweeney in connection with his death.
Prosecutors had no objections to Judge Johnson’s ruling, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Miller requested mandatory drug screening for Sweeney. Judge Johnson denied the request on the basis that it qualified as an unnecessary burden.
The charging documents state that two witnesses told police that Hall was chased by two men, one dressed in all black. The two men caught Hall and beat him, the witnesses said.
Both witnesses eventually identified the man dressed in black as Sweeney through photo identification, documents say.
However, the second witness, who initially picked an incorrect photo, expressed hesitancy about its choice after leaving the interview room. The second witness then identified a photo of Sweeney.
“I was concentrating more on the dreads than the faces of the photo,” the second witness told police.
Sweeney’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 17.
