WASHINGTON — A D.C. teen is accused of unloading an AR-15 rifle into a neighborhood, leaving 26 shell casings littering the street. Wednesday, the US Attorney’s Office asked a judge to return the 18-year-old defendant to jail for the safety of the community, after prosecutors were stunned by another judge’s decision to release him before trial.
Amonte Moody, 18, walked out of DC Superior Court Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by him family.
“No comment,” two of the family members told WUSA9.
Prosecutors say Moody allegedly fired 26 shots from an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at a SUV driving away on Independence Avenue in Southeast on April 22.
No injuries were reported in the 2 a.m. shooting, although one viewer sent WUSA9 photos and filed a police report for a bullet which allegedly hit the families car during the incident.
Moody was charged with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Possession of a Firearm during a Crime of Violence. May 3, magistrate court judge Lloyd Nolan surprised prosecutors by granting him pre-trial release, placing Moody on round the clock home detention with his stepfather in Maryland, equipped with a GPS monitor and a stay away order from the occupants in the car.
The US Attorney’s Office immediately asked for an emergency hearing to revoke Moody’s pre-trial release. They said despite defense attorney arguments which emphasized the defendants supportive and lack any of criminal history even as a juvenile, prosecutors say none of it stopped Moody from allegedly emptying the AR-15 onto a public street where “any innocent passerby or resident could have fallen victim.”
But Wednesday, the defense argued in front of a different judge that he has been in perfect compliance with the terms of his release for 13 days, has a comprehensive release plan and is already signed up for various programs to help him get his life back on track.
The judge seemed swayed by the defense’s arguments, but said he wasn’t ready to decide right away. He allowed Moody to remain on home incarceration, until he announced his decision next week.
By law, all defendants have a presumption of innocence,
And a judge, when determining detention placement, must be convinced that there are no conditions or combination of conditions that would ensure the public safety before ordering the defendant to jail before trial.
Moody will be back in court May 22 to find out if he will be sent back to jail pre-trial.