A man was punched, kicked and hit with a gun in a group robbery in Park View early yesterday morning, police said.
The violent robbery happened on the 2900 block of Georgia Avenue NW about 3 a.m. Wednesday. The area is just north of Howard University’s campus.
The victim was in front of a corner store in the vicinity when three people punched and kicked him and a man put a handgun to the victim’s head, police said.
Protesters and supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan waved flags, held banners and chanted slogans on the sidewalks in front of the Brookings Institute (1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW) in Dupont Circle earlier this afternoon.
Erdogan, who is in town for the Nuclear Security Summit, was slated to deliver a speech on the country’s “global challenges and goals for the year 2023” at Brookings at 1 p.m.
A man with a knife vowed to cut up a McDonald’s manager at 14th and U streets NW last night, police said.
The threat was made inside the fast food restaurant about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday.
The man was waiting for a coffee from the manager when an argument broke out between them, according to authorities.
Developers Plan Mixed-Use Building in Shaw — A group of developers has filed a planned unit development (PUD) for a new mixed-use building with 66 residential units and 7,000 square feet of retail at 810 O Street NW. [UrbanTurf]
Hawthorne ‘Just Going Through the Motions’ — U Street’s new rooftop bar apparently hasn’t earned the admiration of The Washington Post‘s Tom Sietsema. “Co-owner Reed Landry says the restaurant’s goal is ‘upscale bar food.’ Evidence suggests Hawthorne is barely going through the motions,” he wrote. [Washington Post]
Milk Flavor Frenzy — What is “milk flavored” ice cream and why are some local chefs selling it? Chefs from Kinship, Dolci Gelati and the Dabney try to explain. [Washington Post]
U Scoot Reopens on U Street — The scooter rental business at 1949 Vermont Ave. NW is back for the season, says owner Andre Esser.
Patios: Big Business — Local restauranteurs are clamoring to open rooftop decks, patios and other outdoor spaces. Why? The feature has become “must-have.” [Washington City Paper]
(Updated at 9:33 a.m.) Police temporarily closed the 1700 block of Rhode Island Ave. NW this morning to investigate a reported suspicious package.
Officers were seen removing crime tape and leaving from the area just after 9:30 a.m. today.
According to one police officer on the scene, the reported object was located behind a statue near the Civil War Nurses Memorial at the intersection of Rhode Island Ave. and M Street NW. An officer could be seen inspecting something there around 9:15 a.m. this morning.
We’ll update this story once we know more about what prompted the investigation.
A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug in connection with a collision that left more than a dozen people injured near a downtown nightclub on New Year’s Day, the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office announced yesterday.
Malik Lloyd of the District yesterday entered the guilty plea for three counts of assault with significant bodily injury, one count of destruction of property and one count of DUI in the crash outside Barcode at 17th and L streets NW.
Lloyd was driving a Chrysler 200 on 17th Street NW when he hit another car about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, prosecutors said. He then drove away and traveled to L Street NW, where he crashed on the sidewalk in front of the club.
A Dupont Circle chocolate shop is set to bring gourmet chocolatiers to a D.C. hotel next week as part of the first-ever District festival celebrating the candy.
The Chocolate House’s D.C. Chocolate Festival is slated to draw more than 20 candymakers to The Westin at 1400 M St. NW on Saturday, April 9. Chocolate fans can taste the treats and learn more about them from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., after paying $32.64 online.
A news release adds:
Dupont Underground’s first exhibit won’t build itself. In fact, the underground art space was kind of hoping you would.
The organization has put out the call for volunteers to help construct its very first exhibit, Raze/Raise. The exhibit, described by CityLab writer Kriston Capps as a “kind of live-action ‘Minecraft‘ installation” is composed of cubes made from plastic balls harvested from National Building Museum’s “The BEACH.”
“We need to build about 18 thousand cubes composed of 27 balls each,” reads an Eventbrite page the organization put up earlier this week. “It’s pretty simple really, we will be making an assembly line to transform balls into bricks as efficiently as possible. Our goal is to make about 1000 blocks in a day.”
“Poem dropboxes” are popping up around the Mount Pleasant area as part of a local group’s campaign to create a community poetry book, according to the organization.
The Mount Pleasant Poetry Project officially launches its poetry collection program with five dropboxes Friday, the beginning of National Poetry Month.
The locations include:
- Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library (3160 16th St. NW).
- 826DC & Tivoli’s Astounding Magic Supply Co., (3333 14th St. NW).
- Latin American Youth Center (1419 Columbia Road NW).
- The Potter’s House (1658 Columbia Road NW).
- Each Peach Market (3068 Mount Pleasant St. NW).
- Many Languages One Voice inside La Casa Community Center (3166 Mount Pleasant St. NW).
Even President Barack Obama likes to get work done at Busboys and Poets.
The restaurant chain tweeted that Obama visited its location at 2021 14th St. NW earlier this afternoon. According to Busboys and Poets, the president met with seven former inmates in one of the restaurant’s private rooms.
This column is written by D.C. Criminal Lawyer Jason Kalafat, an experienced attorney at Price Benowitz LLP in D.C. who handles complex DUI and serious felony cases. The attorneys at Price Benowitz also practice groups in Immigration, Personal Injury, and Trust & Estates law.
In March 2012, a special investigation by a federal judge concluded that two Justice Department prosecutors intentionally hid evidence in the 2008 case against Sen. Ted Stevens, then facing false-statements charges. He was convicted just before the 2008 election, losing his seat in the Senate.
Now, almost seven years later, according to the National Law Journal, “federal judges in Washington are considering a rule that describes in detail for the first time the government’s obligation to turn over evidence to defense lawyers.”
Federal prosecutors are legally required to provide information to the defense in criminal cases, even if the information is potentially favorable to the defense. However, it is up to each court and to individual judges to decide how to enforce this requirement.
On Wednesday Feb. 3, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia announced a proposed change to the local rules that would “set court-wide standards for what information prosecutors must disclose and when they must start producing that evidence to the defense.”
In defending the proposed change, the committee of judges and lawyers in D.C. from the prosecution and defense bar, who have been working on drafting the rule for the past year, cites the landmark case of Brady v. Maryland.
In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled in the Brady case that the government has a responsibility to disclose material evidence, which has the potential to change the outcome of a case, to the defense. The proposed D.C. rule would require prosecutors to more promptly turn information over to the defense by giving them a specific time frame for doing so.
This is an important step by the courts to memorialize this ethical burden on the prosecution. The criminal defense community is happy to see the courts stepping in. Implementing such a rule would benefit defense lawyers and prosecutors by helping the latter understand their responsibilities and obligations, making criminal cases proceed more fairly and smoothly.
In the past, the Department of Justice has opposed rules and legislation which attempted to address Brady v. Maryland, and has indicated that it opposes this new proposed D.C. rule.
Borderstan contributor and law firm sponsor Price Benowitz LLP
Next weekend @UnionMarketDC is the place to be for @ChefKwame's Philly Wing Fry! Starts at 11 AM each day. pic.twitter.com/YrRd6hn5OB
— The Shaw Bijou (@TheShawBijou) March 22, 2016
Diners interested in getting a taste of the wagyu beef aging in the soon-to-open Shaw Bijou can get it in cheesesteak-form later this week.
Chef Kwame Onwuachi is set to serve wagyu cheesesteak sandwiches, chicken wings and waffle fries as part of his “Philly Wing Fry” at Union Market (1309 5th St. NE) this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The $15 for the plate of food, with a house-made soda, will go to No Kid Hungry, which helps fight childhood hunger, The Washington Post reported.
A website that curates events for “romantically unattached” 20- and 30-somethings wants to buy you a coffee at a Park View cafe this weekend.
Offline Society, a service that sets up flirty outings for lonely millennials in the District, will buy iced coffees for patrons at Colony Club (3118 Georgia Ave. NW) Saturday between 10 a.m. and noon, according to a press release.
“The ladies from the Offline Society will be hanging out at Colony Club and giving out cold brews on us,” reads the press release. “Come say hi and get your buzz on compliments of the Offline Society!”
Assumably, it’s up to attendees to bring the pickup lines.
Photo via Facebook / Colony Club
Right Proper: One of Duke Ellington’s Hangouts? — Did Duke Ellington like to hang out at Right Proper Brewing Company in Shaw? Unless the jazz legend had access to a time machine, then no. But Ellington did frequent a pool hall once located on the site where the brewing company now stands. [Greater Greater Washington]
D.C.’s Best Fried Chicken Sandwiches — Here’s where to find the District’s tastiest fried chicken sandwiches, though we should note: The Chickery in Dupont Circle is oddly missing from this list. [Washington Post]
Traffic Meltdown Headed Our Way? — Will the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit cause commuters to melt down tomorrow and Friday? Roughly 67 percent of our readers said yes in an unscientific poll we conducted yesterday afternoon. [Borderstan]
Computer Problems Could Delay D.C.’s New Private Ambulances — If you call one of the District’s new private ambulances, it might be delayed due to computer issues, according to internal memos. [NBC Washington]
