Deonte J. Bryant | Homicide Watch DC

Deonte Bryant, Terrance Bush Sentenced to Over Sixty Years in 2011 Caribbean Festival Shooting

Kristian Hernandez — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 17:33:01 -0400

Deonte Bryant, 22, and Terrance Bush, 21, were each sentenced Thursday to over sixty years in prison for the 2011 Caribbean festival shooting that killed 43-year-old Robert Foster Jr. and injured two others.

Judge John Ramsey Johnson sentenced Bryant to 60 years and six months and Bush to 61 years and six months, for the Northwest D.C. shooting that happened on June 25, 2011 in a crowded place during broad daylight.

“Many people still remember the crime,” Johnson said. “My sentence takes into account everyone: the victims, the defendants and the city. If it was not for the guns nothing like this would have happened."

Prosecutors linked the case to gang related “urban warfare”.

“The conduct in this case is the most frightening for a city," Prosecutor Jennifer Kerkhoff said. "There were woman and children, all of them innocent, and the defendants created a zone of danger."

A third man accused in the case, Terry Jimenez, pleaded guilty last April to second-degree murder. He has not yet been sentenced and is next due in court in September 2014.

Bryant and Bush were found guilty on all charges including first degree murder and assault with intent to kill in December 2013.

According to prosecutors Bryant and Bush attended the festival armed with the intent to shoot rival crew member Jimenez. When the three men engaged in a shootout, prosecutors said, Foster was a bystander and was caught in the crossfire.

Defense attorneys in the case claim that Bryant and Bush shot back at Jimenez in self-defense and blame Foster’s death on Jimenez, who they say initiated the confrontation.

“He did not wake up Saturday morning with the intent of hurting anybody. He made a mistake, but he acted in self defense,” said Bush's attorney, Daniel Quillin.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office is below:

WASHINGTON – Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush, both 22 and of Washington, D.C., were each sentenced today to more than 60 years in prison for first-degree murder while armed and other charges for shooting and killing a man and wounding two other people during a shoot-out at a street festival in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

A jury found the men guilty in December 2013 of the murder charge, as well as three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, one count of aggravated assault while armed, and related gun charges. The verdicts followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Bryant and Bush were sentenced by the Honorable John Ramsey Johnson. Bryant was sentenced to 60 and ½ years in prison and Bush was sentenced to 61 and ½ years in prison.

According to the government’s evidence, in the late afternoon of June 25, 2011, Bryant and Bush provoked and then participated in a shootout with a member of a rival neighborhood group, striking and injuring the rival, as well as three innocent bystanders who were hit by gunfire as they tried to run away. The shooting took place in broad daylight, during the Caribbean Festival, in the area of the 700 block of Gresham Place NW.

In total, Bryant and Bush fired about a dozen shots into the crowd. One of the innocent bystanders, Robert Foster, Jr., 43, was killed. Another innocent bystander was gravely wounded but survived. The third innocent bystander was shot in the leg and the side but also survived.

The rival, Terry Jimenez, 22, earlier pled guilty to charges in the case. He is awaiting sentencing.

“These murderers unloaded a dozen shots on a crowd of people enjoying a summer afternoon at the Caribbean Festival,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Their stunning indifference to human life was responsible for the death of an innocent bystander and serious injuries to two others. These lengthy prison sentences demonstrate our commitment to ending the pointless neighborhood feuds that incite violence and put innocent citizens at risk.”

“This festival was supposed to be a day of celebration, but an innocent bystander was killed and others were injured as a result of gunfire between rivals,” said Chief Lanier. “Hopefully, the sentencing today will provide a sense of closure to the family of the deceased victim and the surviving victims who were impacted by this senseless violence.”

In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Machen and Chief Lanier praised the work of those who worked on the case from the MPD. They also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Mia Beamon; Victim/Witness Advocate Meshall Thomas, and Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling and Anisha Bhatia.

Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Kerkhoff and Kate Rakoczy, who tried the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Snyder and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Hegyi, who indicted the case.

Deonte Bryant, Terrance Bush Found Guilty in 2011 Caribbean Festival Shooting

Laura Amico — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 17:28:26 -0500

Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush, two of the three men accused in the fatal shooting at the Carribean festival in Northwest DC in 2011, were found guilty late Friday afternoon of all charges against them including first-degree murder and assault.

The third man accused in the case, Terry Jimenez, pleaded guilty last April to second-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill, and aggravated assault knowingly while armed.

Jurors delivered Bryant's and Bush's verdicts after one day of deliberations.

While government prosecutors presented the case as "urban warfare," arguing that Bryant and Bush exchanged gunfire with Jimenez on the crowded street because they were involved in opposing gangs, the men's defense attorneys argued that Bryant and Bush shot at Jimenez in self-defense.

Three people were caught in that crossfire. Robert Foster Jr., 43, was killed and two others were injured.

“Dalyon Young, [Jimenez’s] best friend, came in here and told you that Terry Jimenez was acting crazy,” Kevin Mosley, Bush's defense attorney said Thursday. “He said that Terry Jimenez shot first. He was hell bent on killing Deonte Bryant.”

Prosecutor Jennifer Kerkhoff said Thursday that it doesn’t matter who started shooting first.

“But for all of them, this wouldn’t have happened," she said. "All three of them are responsible and deserve the blame.”

Bryant and Bush are scheduled for sentencing March 7. Jimenez is scheduled for a status hearing January 17.

Jury Deliberations Begin in Caribbean Festival Murder Trial

Ivan Natividad — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:18:04 -0500

Jurors began deliberating Thursday in a first-degree murder case charging Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush with the June 2011 Caribbean Festival shooting death of 43-year-old Robert Foster Jr.

During more than two weeks of trial, prosecutors argued that Bryant and Bush attended the festival armed with the intent to shoot rival crew member Terry Jimenez. When the three men engaged in a shootout, prosecutors said, Foster was caught in the crossfire.

But defense attorneys in the case claim that the two co-defendants shot back at Jimenez in self-defense, and blame Foster's death on Jimenez, who they say initiated the confrontation.

"Terry Jimenez decided Deonte Bryant and his friends didn't belong in his territory," Bryant's defense attorney, Daniel Quillin, said Thursday. "It was because of [Jimenez] and his reckless actions, that Robert Foster Jr. is dead today."

Foster was found on June 25, 2011 around 5:05 p.m. in the 700 block of Gresham Place Northwest suffering from a gunshot wound to the back. Two others were found shot, but survived. Foster was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Bryant, Bush and Jimenez, were arrested and held in Foster's death.

In April, Jimenez pleaded guilty to three out of the original eighteen charges against him, which include second-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill, and aggravated assault knowingly while armed.

Bryant and Bush are charged with first-degree murder while armed and related weapons offenses in connection with Foster’s death. They also face assault charges related to the other people who were shot that day and survived.

In closing arguments Thursday, Bush's defense attorney, Kevin Mosley, told jurors that Bush and Bryant had no choice but to pull out their guns and shoot at Jimenez.

Mosley said that Jimenez was a "crazed maniac" who was drunk and high at the time of the shooting.

"Dalyon Young, [Jimenez's] best friend, came in here and told you that Terry Jimenez was acting crazy," Mosley said Thursday. "He said that Terry Jimenez shot first. He was hell bent on killing Deonte Bryant."

Charging documents in the case allege that Bryant was a member of the "Clifton Terrace University" gang, a rival crew to Jimenez's, "Hobart Stars."

The day of the shooting, Bryant and Bush saw Jimenez at the Caribbean festival on Georgia Avenue, court documents state.

According to charging documents, when Bryant and Bush turned to leave, Jimenez followed them to the 700 block of Gresham Place Northwest. Jimenez then ducked behind a car and exchanged fire with Bryant and Bush, who shot at him while retreating toward Sherman Avenue Northwest, documents state.

In the shootout Jimenez and two others were shot and injured. Foster's lower back and spinal cord were struck; he was pronounced dead hours later.

While defense attorneys in the case have argued that Jimenez initiated the shootout, and shot first, making him responsible for the shooting and its casualties, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff said Thursday that it doesn't matter who started shooting first.

"I don't care who fired first," Kerkhoff said. "But for all of them, this wouldn't have happened. All three of them are responsible and deserve the blame."

The case is scheduled to continue deliberations tomorrow.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Defense Attorney Kevin Mosley as Frank Mosley. We regret the error.

At Trial, Witness Describes Surviving Caribbean Festival Shooting

Ivan Natividad — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 18:56:52 -0500

"They sounded like firecrackers. It was a bunch of shots, and everyone started running."

Everyone, Trevis Johnson said, but his friend Robert Foster Jr.

Testifying at trial Monday, Johnson told jurors how he and Foster came to be on Gresham Place the afternoon of the Carribean Festival in June 2011 when three men exchanged gunfire, catching the friends in their crossfire while the two men drank beers about a block from the parade route.

Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush are charged in the case and have stood trial at DC Superior Court since Nov. 25. They are suspected of participating in the shootout which killed Foster and injured Johnson and Alecia Harrison.

Johnson, 41, told jurors Monday that the day of the shooting he took the subway with Foster and another friend to Petworth Metro station where the three walked to Georgia Avenue to enjoy the festival.

After about an hour, Johnson said, he and Foster went to a liquor store on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Gresham Place where they bought two 24-ounce cans of beer.

They then walked onto Gresham Place where they planned to drink the beers and head back to the festival, which was just a few feet away, Johnson said.

Johnson sat on the hood of a car with his back to the street, Foster sat on the sidewalk with his face to the street, and the two drank the beer and talked for about ten minutes, Johnson said.

Then the shots rang out.

"As I turned to my left, I heard some shots and saw a guy holding a black gun outward, and approaching me," Johnson said. "So I ducked."

Video footage shown in court Monday shows the man with the gun to be Terry Jimenez, a third codefendant in the case, who pleaded guilty to Foster's murder in April.

Jimenez testified last week about his role in the shooting, and told jurors that he exchanged gunfire with Bryant and Bush after one of them fired the first shot.

Charging documents in the case allege that Bryant was a member of the “Clifton Terrace University” gang, a rival crew to Jimenez’s, “Hobart Stars.”

In the shootout, Foster was shot in the lower back and spinal cord. Johnson told jurors he was shot in his stomach and left leg, and that he saw Foster laying on the sidewalk moments after the shooting ended.

"He was on the ground and not moving, but I didn't know that he had passed," Johnson said.

Bryant's defense attorney, Daniel Quillin, argued Monday that the shots that killed Foster were fired by Jimenez, and not Bush or Bryant. Johnson told jurors he didn't know where the shots came from.

Closing arguments are expected in the case tomorrow.

Megan Arellano contributed to this report.

Trial Begins in June 2011 Caribbean Festival Shooting Death of Robert Foster Jr.

Ivan Natividad — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 21:16:00 -0500

Prosecutors opened their case charging Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush with the June 25, 2011 Caribbean Festival shooting death of 43-year-old Robert Foster Jr. Monday with eyewitness testimony from those near the festival when the deadly shots were fired.

According to the government's case, Bryant and Bush attended the festival armed with the intent to find and shoot rival crew member Terry Jimenez. Once they found him-- or he found them-- all three men engaged in a shootout.

Foster was caught in the crossfire.

"Both sides brought their guns. Both sides, as the evidence will show, are responsible," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff said.

Bryant and Bush are charged with first-degree murder while armed and related weapons offenses in connection with Foster's death.

They also face assault charges related to two other victims who were shot that day and survived.

Jimenez pleaded guilty in April to three out of the original eighteen charges against him. The charges he pleaded guilty to were first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill, and aggravated assault knowingly while armed.

Charging documents in the case claim that Bryant was a member of the "Clifton Terrace University" gang, a rival crew to Jimenez's, "Hobart Stars."

Court documents state that Jimenez had returned to DC after spending several months in Buffalo, N.Y., where he stayed after the February shooting of his close friend, Lucki Pannell. Police believed that Jimenez was the target in that shooting.

Bryant and Bush saw Jimenez at the Caribbean festival on Georgia Avenue on June 25, 2011, and when Bryant and Bush turned to leave the festival down Gresham Place Northwest, Jimenez and his friends followed them, police say.

Jimenez walked to the 700 block of Gresham Place, ducked behind a car, and exchanged fire with Bryant and Bush, who shot back at him while retreating toward Sherman Ave. Northwest, police say.

In the shootout Jimenez and two others were shot and injured. Foster, whose lower back and spinal cord were struck, was pronounced dead hours later.

In court Monday, Bryant's defense attorney, Daniel Quillin, placed the blame for Foster's death, and the other injuries, with Jimenez.

Jimenez, was a "crazed maniac," who initiated the confrontation, Quillin said.

"Terry Jimenez was a man possessed, and was in a crazed state of mind stalking Deonte Bryant because of a mean minded look," Quillin said. "Deonte Bryant acted in self defense."

Bush's defense attorney, Frank Mosley, said the shooting was not premeditated and that Bush didn't know Jimenez. Bush had bumped into Bryant at the festival moments before the shooting, Mosley said.

Joshua Hertzberg, who witnessed the shooting from his front porch, told jurors Monday that at the festival he saw a black man wearing a white shirt with his arm extended and shooting a pistol toward Georgia Avenue.

Video footage retrieved from Hertzberg's house surveillance system, shown in court, captures three black men retreating down Gresham Place. Two of the men have their arms extended and are believed to have been shooting in the direction of Georgia Avenue.

Alecia Harrison told jurors about being on Gresham Place when the shooting took place.

She was visiting a friend in the neighborhood, she said, and was walking back to her car when she was bumped in the left shoulder by a man walking in the opposite direction with two other men.

Seconds later Harrison heard gunshots.

"My friend, she tried to pull me around the corner," Harrison said tears running down her eyes. "She made it. I didn't."

Harrison was shot through her intestines, stomach and liver. The bullet remains inside her.

The case is scheduled to continue trial Tuesday.

Terry Jimenez Pleads Guilty in Caribbean Festival Shooting

Chris Amico — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:17:30 -0400

Terry Jimenez, one of three men accused of killing a bystander in a shootout at the 2011 Caribbean Festival, pleaded guilty Friday, a week before his trial was scheduled to begin.

Prosecutors say Jimenez traded gunfire with rival gang members Deonte J. Bryant and Terrance Bush during the event. Jimenez and two others were wounded in the exchange.

Robert Foster Jr., a bystander, was killed. The three men were charged with murder according to the urban warfare doctrine, which makes all three potentially culpable for Foster's death, regardless of who fired the bullet that killed him.

All three pleaded innocent at their joint arraignment last year. The men were charged as codefendants, even though they were shooting at each other. Judge John Ramsey Johnson denied a defense motion to sever the cases on April 5.

Jimenez pleaded guilty to three of the eighteen charges against him, including first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill, and aggravated assault knowingly while armed. The further sixteen charges, including additional counts of first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and aggravated assault as well as various weapons charges related to possessing, carrying, and using weapons without licenses, were dismissed.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 12. A trial for Bryant and Bush is scheduled to begin May 13.

Defendants in Caribbean Festival Shooting Plead Innocent to all Charges

Stephanie Czekalinski — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:26:08 -0400

Three men, Terry Jimenez, Deonte Bryant, and Terrance Bush, pled not guilty Friday morning to charges stemming from a June shooting that killed Robert Foster Jr.

The three are facing charges of first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and aggravated assault. They are also charged with various weapons charges related to possessing, carrying, and using weapons without licenses.

Prosecutors believe that Bryant and Bush exchanged gunfire with Jimenez following the Caribbean Festival on June 25 last year. Three people, including Jimenez, were injured in the exchange. Foster, described as an innocent bystander out to enjoy the festivities, was killed. Charging documents allege a gang beef that put Jimenez at odds with Bryant and Bush.

All three men are scheduled to be back in court for a status hearing on June 8.

24-Count Murder Indictment in Caribbean Festival Shooting

Laura Amico — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:02:44 -0400

A Grand Jury yesterday returned a 24-count indictment against Terry Jimenez, Deonte Bryant, and Terrance Bush, including charges of first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and aggravated assault.

Jimenez, Bryant, and Bush are expected to be arraigned on the charges Friday morning, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office said.

Prosecutors believe that Bryant and Bush exchanged gunfire with Jimenez following the Caribbean Festival on June 25. Three people, including Jimenez, were injured in the exchange. Robert Foster Jr, described as an innocent bystander out to enjoy the festivities, was killed. Charging documents allege a gang beef that put Jimenez at odds with Bryant and Bush.

In addition to the murder and assault charges, it also includes various weapons charges related to possessing, carrying, and using weapons without licenses.

Terry Jimenez Held in Caribbean Festival Shooting

Laura Amico — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:45:34 -0400

It was six weeks ago that Terry Jimenez first appeared in front of Judge William Jackson for a preliminary hearing in the second-degree murder case that accuses him of killing a man in armed urban warfare. On Friday that hearing was completed, and Jimenez was ordered held.

Relying on video evidence presented on July 29, as well as cross-examination of MPD Detective Charles Fultz which was completed Friday, Jackson found probable cause in the case against Jimenez.

Jimenez's case is joined with two co-defendants, Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush, who are also being held on substantial probability.

"Substantial Probability" Found in Urban Warfare Prosecution of Caribbean Festival Shooting

Laura Amico — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:33:59 -0400

Judge William Jackson ruled Friday that there was enough evidence to try two men accused of engaging in urban warfare following the Caribbean Festival in Northwest DC in June.

Said AUSA Bruce Hegyi, in order to use the urban warfare legal theory, prosecutors must prove that

the parties involved were armed and ready to fight when a crime took place,
that they engaged in a gun battle,
that they did not act in self-defense,
that their conduct played a role in how the crime unfolded,
and that it was reasonably foreseeable that the death of an innocent bystander could occur during the course of a fight.

Hegyi argued that the actions of Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush following the Caribbean Festival met this criteria.

Defense attorneys for the men disagreed.

"Mr. Bryant was taken completely by surprise," said attorney Daniel Quillin. "He had the absolute right to return fire and defend himself."

Added attorney Kevin Mosley, on behalf of Bush, "There is a clear indication they [Bush and Bryant] were retreating when they were shot at.

Prosecutors believe that Bryant and Bush exchanged gunfire with Terry Jimenez following the festival on June 25. Three people, including Jimenez, where injured in the exchange. Robert Foster Jr, described as an innocent bystander out to enjoy the festivities, was killed. Charging documents allege a gang beef that put Jimenez at odds with Bryant and Bush.

In finding substantial probability in the case Friday, Jackson said, it appeared Jimenez, Bryant and Bush were "all acting together... provoking a fight and provoking a gun battle."

A preliminary hearing for Jimenez was begun last Friday and is due back in court Tuesday. The substantial probability ruling does not apply to his case.

Bryant and Bush were ordered held following Jackson's ruling. They are due back in court Dec. 9.

Terry Jimenez Losses PDS Representation; Prelims for all 3 Defendants Likely Late Next Week

Laura Amico — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:04:07 -0400

Judge William Jackson today prohibited D.C.'s public defender service from representing Terry Jimenez, one of three men accused in the shooting death of Robert Foster Jr. following the Caribbean Festival in Northwest D.C. last month.

PDS has represented one of Jimenez' codefendants in the case, a rival gang member, for about five years and Jackson said there were no steps that could be taken to ensure that there wasn't a conflict of interest, or appearance of any conflict.

Jackson said that based on the government's evidence in the case, it's likely that defense attorneys for Jimenez and Terrance Bush will "invariably point the finger at the other guy."

Bush's previous interactions with PDS mean that multiple attorneys and staff members in that agency have extensive knowledge of Bush and, even if a "Chinese Wall" were established between attorneys that knew Bush and those who did not, there could be the impression that Jimenez' defense was playing with insider information, Jackson said.

His ruling was in response to a motion by government prosecutors and was strongly objected by representatives of PDS over two hours of hearings Monday and Tuesday.

PDS authorities warned that after three weeks of intensive investigations "a great deal of harm" would come from withdrawing from Jimenez' case.

Attorneys Mary Kennedy (of law firm Arnold and Porter LLP) and James Thomas took over the case following Jackson's ruling.

Preliminary hearings for all three men accused in the case are likely to be postponed to the end of next week.

Jimenez was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Monday, but the matter of his representation delayed it. Jackson rescheduled it for July 28 at 2 p.m.

Bush and Deonte Bryant are expected in court briefly Monday, at which time Jackson expects to reschedule their hearing for July 29.

Though all three men are codefendants, Jackson scheduled their hearings on separate days for "security reasons."

Jimenez is a member of a gang that rivals one that Bush and Bryant belong to, and according to court documents a beef between the two gangs led to the post-festival shootout that killed Foster.

Terrance Bush Held in Robert Foster Jr. Homicide

Laura Amico — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:11:12 -0400

A third suspect in a deadly shooting following DC's Caribbean Festival was presented yesterday with a charge of second degree murder and ordered held pending a preliminary hearing.

Terrance Bush appeared in courtroom c-10 represented by attorney Jeffrey Lewis. On Bush's behalf, Lewis submitted to the government's evidence for substantial probability that Bush was involved in the shooting death of Robert Foster Jr.

A preliminary hearing date was set for July 25.

Co-defendants in the case are also scheduled for the end of this month: Terry Jimenez is expected in court for a preliminary hearing on July 18 and Deonte Bryant is expected July 25.

Bush's charging documents are after the jump.

MPD Makes Third Arrest in Caribbean Festival Murder of Robert Foster Jr.

Laura Amico — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:37:51 -0400

A third person has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of Robert Foster following Northwest D.C.'s Caribbean Festival late last month.

MPD announced this evening that 19 year-old Terrance Marquis Bush of Northeast D.C. is suspected of taking part in the deadly shooting and has been arrested on a charge of second degree murder while armed.

Terry Jimenez and Deonte Bryant are awaiting preliminary hearings in the same case.

Read MPD's press release after the jump.

July 11, 2011

Third Arrest Made in Homicide of Robert Foster, Jr.

( Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced that a third arrest has been made in the homicide of Robert Foster, Jr.

On Saturday, June 25, 2011, at approximately 5:03 pm, units from the Third District responded to a call for the sounds of gunshots. Upon arrival, they located four victims, three in the 700 block of Gresham Place, NW and one in the 700 block of Columbia Road, NW. All four victims were transported by DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel to local hospitals where one of the victims succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

The decedent has been identified as 43 year-old Robert Foster, Jr. of Northwest, Washington, DC.

On Sunday, June 26, 2011, members of the Homicide Branch arrested an adult male and charged him with Murder Two while Armed.

On Tuesday, July 5, 2011 members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested an adult male of Northwest Washington, DC, pursuant to a DC Superior Court Warrant charging him with Second Degree Murder while Armed.

On Monday, July 11, 2011, at approximately 1:30 pm, 19 year-old Terrance Marquis Bush, of Northeast, Washington, DC, was arrested by members of the Third District, pursuant to a DC Superior Court Warrant charging him with Second Degree Murder while Armed.

From Oklahoma to D.C. Jail

Laura Amico — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:06:57 -0400

This past October, Deonte Bryant was enrolled at Langston University in Oklahoma. A five hundred dollar scholarship from Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham was helping pay his way and DYRS specialist Fred Rogers thought Bryant had a "real opportunity to change his life."

Today Bryant sits in D.C. Jail.

In an email to Homicide Watch Graham wrote of Bryant:

I strongly believe everyone, especially our young, youthful offenders, sometimes need a second chance, sometimes a third and fourth chance to get their lives on track. However, those chances / opportunities need to be coupled with verification and close monitoring by the agency. I don’t have any information why, when or how Mr. Bryant returned to DC. DYRS never communicated to me his return, although my staff made several attempts, beginning in April, 2011 to check on his status. DYRS never fully responded to those requests. Unfortunately, the first news I had regarding Deonte was when I read he was arrested.

Bryant was arrested July 5 by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and the following day presented with a second-degree murder charge at D.C. Superior Court.

Police and prosecutors believe that Bryant was one of three men involved in a mid-day Saturday gang shoot-out in a busy Northwest DC street following a street carnival. The shooting left one bystander, Robert Foster Jr., dead and injured three others, including 19-year-old Terry Jimenez, also in custody on a murder charge related to the shooting.

Like Bryant, Jimenez was believed to be living outside of D.C. In his case, Jimenez was placed in Buffalo, New York, by authorities trying to "save his life," Leonard Sipes, a spokesman for the District’s Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency told the Washington Post.

Authorities believed Jimenez had been the target of a February shooting in Columbia Heights that killed Cardozo High student Lucki Pannell.

Reported the Post:

When CSOSA officials heard of February’s shooting, Sipes said, they contacted Superior Court, law enforcement agencies and Jimenez’s family to try to get him out of the city. An out-of-state family member offered to house him.

In March, a case involving an arrest for distributing cocaine was dismissed, Sipes said.

CSOSA called Jimenez twice a month, in addition to e-mailing the family member, Sipes said. But Jimenez went missing earlier this month — until a community leader told CSOSA that he was in town, Sipes said.

After learning that Jimenez was in the District, the agency tried to contact family members here and elsewhere, as well as law enforcement agencies, Sipes said. But the agency couldn’t find him, he said.

It seems Bryant had an equally difficult time staying away from the District.

After the fatal June shooting, MPD executed a search warrant at Bryant's mother's home on 14th Street NW, where they said Bryant was living. At the house they found Bryant's clothes, an obituary for one of his friends, and photos of Bryant with friends, among other items, according to MPD's affidavit in the case.

In an email message Monday, Graham said his scholarship to Bryant was part of his annual effort to provide a $500 scholarship to one graduating senior in every high school in Ward One.

While Bryant's school, New Beginnings, isn't located in Ward One, it's sister school, Maya Angelou Public Charter School, is, and Bryant was recommended for the honor.

Said Graham in an email message Monday:

As you can imagine, I was very disturbed and disheartened to learn of his arrest and alleged involvement in the June 25th shooting.

Bryant is due in court July 25 for a preliminary hearing in his case.

Read Graham's email about Bryant below.

Judge holds Deonte Bryant, finding urban warfare not self defense.

Laura Amico — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:27:43 -0400

On June 25, Deonte Bryant and Terry Jimenez stood on opposite sides of a fight, each a member of an opposing gang. Facing off, as prosecutors tell it, the two exchanged gunfire. Jimenez was wounded. Bryant ran, the clip from his semi-automatic pistol falling to the ground as he made his escape.

Today the two young men became co-defendants.

Bryant, 20, and Jimenez, 19, are each charged with second-degree murder in the death of Robert Foster Jr, an innocent man struck in the exchange of bullets that prosecutors likened to urban warfare.

Jonathan Franklin, as pictured on an MPD "unsolved homicides" poster

According to charging documents in the case, the argument between Bryant and Jimenez goes back to 2007 when 15-year-old Jonathan Lamont Franklin Jr. was gunned down in a triple shooting near 14th and Ingraham streets NW.

Franklin and Bryant were good friends, both members of the Clifton Terrace University (CTU) gang, and CTU blamed Franklin's killing on a rival gang, the Hobart Stars.

It wasn't immediately clear Wednesday evening whether anyone has been prosecuted in Franklin's case.

Jimenez was a member of the Hobart Stars and had, on at least one occasion, been targeted for murder by CTU, investigators believe.

According to charging documents, when Jimenez and Bryant met following the Caribbean Festival in northwest DC, Bryant made "intimidating looks" at Jimenez and reached to his own waist showing that he was armed. Later Bryant confronted a witness and stated "tell your mans I'm trying to put in work," which prosecutors believe meant that Bryant wanted Jimenez and his friends to know that he was ready for battle. And then Bryant walked away.

Bryant's defense attorney, Michael Quillin, argued Wednesday that what happened next was self-defense.

Jimenez followed Bryant and two others then fired at them and ducked behind a car. One of Bryant's friends fled, the other joined Bryant in returning gunfire at Jimenez, according to charging documents. Four people, including Jimenez, were shot. Foster died.

"If one person grits on another, that doesn't authorize the other person to take out a pistol and begin firing," Quillin said. "[Bryant] had a right to act in self-defense. He tried to protect his own person and perhaps even the people around him."

Judge Diane Harris Epps disagreed.

"Both these two gentlemen are on opposing sides of a disagreement. The defendant had the full intention of engaging. Both equally participated," she said.

In ruling that there was enough evidence to hold a preliminary hearing in the case, Epps sided with prosecutors who argued that the description of the shooting creates probable cause for an "urban warfare" prosecution.

Such a prosecution allows both Jimenez and Bryant to be held liable for Foster's death, even if evidence shows that a bullet that could only have come from one of the men's guns struck and killed Foster.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Bryant for July 25 at nine a.m. in Judge Jackson's courtroom.

Jimenez is expected before Judge Jackson on July 18.

Charging documents in Bryant's case are below.