WASHINGTON — A teenage girl accused of beating a man to death in Northwest D.C. last year has rejected a plea offer and pushed Wednesday to go to trial as soon as possible – even as her two juvenile co-defendants sought more time.
In March, three juvenile girls – two 13-year-olds and a 12-year-old – were charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 64-year-old Reggie Brown. Brown was found unresponsive in the 6200 block of Georgia Avenue NW on Oct. 17 last year and pronounced dead on the scene. The D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined he died of blunt force trauma and ruled his death a homicide.
All three juveniles were placed in the custody of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services following their arrest. WUSA9 is not identifying them because they have been charged as juveniles.
On Wednesday, all three appeared before D.C. Superior Court Judge Kendra Davis Briggs. Briggs, a former assistant U.S. attorney nominated to the bench in 2021 by President Joe Biden, denied a request by one of the girls to be released to the custody of her father.
Attorneys for two of the juveniles requested a status conference in 30 days while they continue to gather information about the case. An attorney representing the third juvenile, however, asked Briggs to set a trial date in 45 days.
Briggs agreed, setting a trial for all three defendants to begin on June 24. Because of the judge’s busy trial calendar through the summer, the trial will proceed for several days in June and then resume on Aug. 19. A prosecutor from the Office of the Attorney General for D.C. said she expected the government’s case to take roughly a week.
It was unclear whether the remaining two juvenile defendants would request to be severed and tried separately if that date holds or if the OAG would oppose severing their cases.
The OAG’s office also put on the record Wednesday that plea offers had been made to all three juveniles on May 2. An attorney representing the juvenile seeking a swift trial said Wednesday she was rejecting that offer.
All three juveniles were ordered to return to court on June 14 for a trial readiness and motions hearing.