By Laura Berol and Lily Engel – July 1, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shootings | Suspects | Victims |

Defense attorney Madalyn Harvey asked D.C. Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan to delay Antoine Turner’s trial so Harvey can review thousands of videos and tens of thousands of pages of evidence at a July 1 hearing.

Turner, 30, is charged with first-degree murder with a weapon with aggravated circumstances, possession of a firearm during a violent crime, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction more than one year old and carrying a pistol without a permit outside a home or business. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in the shooting deaths of Demetrius Benson, 34, on Nov. 3, 2020, in the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE, and Demeitri Anderson, 23, on Nov. 29, 2020, in the 4500 block of Benning Road, SE.

Harvey told Judge Raffinan that the defense recently received two phone extraction files from the prosecution, one containing more than 13,000 pages and the other more than 31,000 pages.

According to the prosecution, the phones were seized when Turner was arrested on December 3, 2020. At the time, the technology to unlock the phones did not exist. The prosecution was not able to recover the data from the phone until last June.

Additionally, Turner’s former attorney received more than 3,000 Ring camera video clips from the prosecution. The new defense team has claimed they never received those videos.

Harvey said the defense could not be ready for the Oct. 21 trial date because of the need to review that information.

The prosecutor asked to maintain the current trial date and offered to assist the defense in handling the evidence.

Judge Raffinan asked the defense team to accept the prosecutor’s assistance. If they still feel they need more time, they can file a motion for an extension by August 9.

In addition, Judge Raffinan asked the prosecutor to provide a more detailed timetable for the trial, which she said will last four weeks.

The parties are due to meet again on August 30.

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