Press Release
☷Grand Jury Returns 17 Count Indictment Charging Gerald Brevard III With Murder Multiple Counts of Assault and Hate Crimes
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( By Press Release office)
Sep 22,2022
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Charges Involve March 2022 Attacks Against District of Columbia Homeless Men WASHINGTON – An indictment was returned today charging Gerald Brevard III with a total of 17 charges , including first - degree murder while armed , assault with intent to kill while armed , aggravated assault while armed , mayhem while armed , and multiple firearm offenses in the March 2022 attacks on three homeless men in Washington , D . C . The indictment further alleges that the attacks were bias - related hate crimes on account of the victims ' perceived or actual homelessness . The indictment , returned by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia , was announced by U . S . Attorney Matthew M . Graves , Robert J . Contee III , Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department ( MPD ) , and Charlie J . Patterson , Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives ( ATF ) . According to the indictment , between March 3 and March 9 , 2022 , Brevard , 31 , attacked three men in Washington , D . C . As alleged in the indictment , on March 3 , 2022 , he assaulted the first victim with a firearm with the intent to kill him . On March 8 , 2022 , again , while armed with a firearm , Brevard assaulted the second victim with intent to kill him , the indictment alleges . Moreover , the indictment alleges the second victim suffered serious and permanent bodily injury . Finally , according to the indictment , on March 9 , 2022 , Brevard shot and stabbed Morgan Holmes , 54 , resulting in his death . Brevard is to be arraigned on the charges on Oct . 18 , 2022 , at a hearing before the Honorable Robert Okun . As a result of the grand jury alleging the murder and assaults were bias - related hate crimes , the defendant may face up to 1 ½ times the maximum term of imprisonment for the murder and assaults if found guilty at trial . In addition , the indictment charges Brevard with “aggravating circumstances , ” finding that the murder was especially heinous , atrocious or cruel . If aggravating circumstances are found by a jury at trial , Brevard faces a maximum of life imprisonment without the possibility of release on the murder charge . Brevard was arrested on March 15 , 2022 , in Washington , D . C . , following a joint investigation of MPD , the New York City Police Department , and the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives into the series of shootings targeting homeless men in Washington , D . C . and New York between March 3 - 12 , 2022 , that were preliminarily linked by firearms evidence . He has been detained here ever since . The indictment only charges offenses committed in Washington , D . C . An indictment is merely a formal allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until , and unless , proven guilty . In announcing the indictment , U . S . Attorney Matthew Graves , MPD Chief Robert Contee III , and Special Agent in Charge Patterson commended the efforts of those who have investigated the case from the MPD , ATF , and the New York City Police Department . They also expressed appreciation for the work of the many other agencies that have provided assistance . They commended the work of those who are handling the case from the U . S . Attorney’s Office , including Victim/Witness Advocate Karina Hernandez , Paralegal Specialists Sharon Newman and Lashone Samuels , Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin , and Litigation Technology Specialist Paul Howell . Finally , they acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U . S . Attorneys Michelle D . Jackson and Sarah C . Santiago , who are investigating and prosecuting the case .
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