Jail stabbing defendant acquitted of all charges

By Emily Reed
– June 13, 2024
Daily Stories | stab | Suspects | Victims |

Deliberations concluded June 12 after closing arguments in a prison stabbing case, with the jury in Judge Jennifer Di Toro's courtroom of Washington Superior Court acquitting the defendant of all charges. accusations.

Antoine Donvell Johnson, 28, was initially charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault causing great bodily injury and unlawful possession of contraband in a penal institution for his alleged involvement in a stabbing that occurred at the DC Jail, in the 1900 block of D Street, SE, on January 15. One person was injured during the incident.

According to prosecutors, multiple video footage from the D.C. jail shows an individual, identified as Johnson, in a physical fight with the victim. The police responded to the scene and used pepper spray to calm the situation. The victim was found with multiple stab wounds and was treated for serious injuries.

The prosecution further argued that the force used by Johnson against the victim was unreasonable, denying Johnson's self-defense. They said Johnson was the aggressor and held the knife, so any other information — like where the knife came from or what the victim said to Johnson — was a “distraction” from the facts of the case.

Johnson's defense attorney, Matthew Rist, argued the prosecution's case was a “misinterpretation” of the incident. He said Johnson acted in self-defense, believing he was in imminent danger of retaliation from the victim due to a previous incident between the two, in which Johnson suffered a laceration to his head. head.

“I got out of what I thought was a four-on-one situation,” Johnson said. Rist asked the jury to consider Johnson's unique circumstances as an inmate, that appearing fearful or weak would put him in greater danger.

After a day of deliberations, the jury concluded that the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Johnson was the perpetrator of the incident.

Johnson was released in connection with this case, but remains detained pending future proceedings in a shooting case.

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