Defendant's refusal to appear in court threatens to delay shooting trial

By Emily Reed, Sofia Feigelson – June 3, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-lethal shot | Suspects |

A trial held June 3 in Washington Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo's courtroom was delayed after the defendant initially refused to appear in court due to illness. However, he was taken back to court on a judge's order.

Tyrone Astorias Johnson, 43, is charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, knowingly aggravated assault while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault causing great bodily injury while armed for allegedly shooting. several shots at an individual. The shooting occurred on August 30, 2022 in a park in the 1500 block of Maryland Avenue, NE.

According to the victim's testimony, a black man, later identified as Johnson, asked her for a cigarette, but the victim said he did not have one. As a result, the individual identified as Johnson began shooting at the victim.

During the hearing, before the jurors entered the courtroom, Judge Demeo addressed the parties with an update regarding the defendant. That morning, Johnson refused to get off the bus that was transporting prisoners from the jail to the courthouse.

Judge Demeo ordered that Johnson cannot return to prison until he meets with his attorneys to discuss a voluntary absence from court. Johnson then cooperated,

Johnson's attorney, Joseph Fay, expressed surprise at the problem, saying his client has always been “nicer to be around” than many of his other clients.

Fay said Johnson had had a stomach illness the night before and reportedly went to the infirmary and had not eaten since the night of May 30. A trash can was placed next to Johnson and Judge Demeo told him that if he became too ill to continue, court would end for the day.

As the proceedings continued, an official from ShotSpotter Services, which monitors public safety with devices that detect “impulsive noises” such as gunshots, was called to the stand.

The prosecution released audio recordings from four different sensors capturing the pulse sounds of what are believed to be gunshots on August 23 and 30, 2020.

At a previous hearing, the prosecution presented a 911 call from the defendant's ex-girlfriend that took place on August 23, 2020. During the call, she heard a dispatcher say that Johnson had shot him. However, when the ex-girlfriend testified, she said she was never injured and never saw Johnson fire a gun.

Prosecutors also called a trauma surgeon from MedStar Washington Hospital Center, who testified about the victim's injuries and the treatment that followed.

According to notes from the surgeon's report presented by the prosecution, the victim suffered two gunshot wounds to the genitals, two to the left groin, two to the right outer thigh and two to the outer thigh. LEFT.

Additionally, the surgeon said she was concerned about the possibility of internal injury or bleeding. The victim therefore underwent chest and pelvic X-rays, as well as a CT scan, but no signs of hemorrhage were found.

Asked about her interaction with the victim, the surgeon said she spoke to him while he was awake and discussed his pain scale. She doesn't remember what he felt, but said the victim “must have been in pain” because he was prescribed painkillers.

The celebrations will resume on June 3.

Notifications are not yet available for this specific case. Please check back later for updates. THANKS.