WASHINGTON — A 16-year-old accused of fatally shooting another teenager on the Brookland-CUA Metro platform last week will be held without bond while he awaits trial.
The 16-year-old appeared before D.C. Superior Court Judge Kendra Davis Briggs on Friday afternoon for a detention hearing. WUSA9 is not identifying the teen because he has been charged as a juvenile.
His attorney, William Howell from the Public Defender Service for D.C., argued the shooting appeared to be a “spontaneous event” that was unlikely to repeat itself. Briggs, however, sided with prosecutors and ordered the teen held without bond at the Youth Services Center, the city’s juvenile detention facility. She also ordered standard psychoeducational and psychiatric evaluations.
The 16-year-old was arrested Tuesday on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Avion Evans last week. According to police, the incident because with an altercation between a group of teenagers on the Brookland-CUA Metro platform last Thursday. At some point during the scuffle, police said, someone not involved with the fight pulled out a gun and opened fire. Evans was struck and pronounced dead on the platform.
Jordan Bonnardel, a D.C. teacher, told WUSA9 he was on his way home when he heard the gunshot.
"He was on the ground. He was not moving at all," Bonnardel said. "They were moving him like a puppet. No response at all."
The 16-year-old was ordered to return to court on May 17 for his next hearing. Briggs scheduled his trial to begin May 24, although prosecutors said they anticipated filing for a continuance since they believed an autopsy report requested from the Office of the D.C. Medical Examiner would not yet be ready.