Catholic University shooting suspect appears in court; documents show he was repeat offender

WASHINGTON - Court documents have revealed new details about what led up to the shooting at Catholic University that left a Kentucky teacher dead. 

Jaime Macedo, 22, appeared in a courtroom Wednesday for his arraignment. Macedo is now charged with first-degree murder while armed in the murder of 25-year-old Maxwell Emerson. He is being held without bond at least until his next court date on July 20. 

Emerson was in D.C. with his family for the 4th of July holiday. The family says he was on his way to the Metro to attend a teacher’s conference at the Library of Congress when he was shot and killed on the university campus. 

Records show that Macedo, who was arrested Tuesday, violated probation multiple times but kept getting another chance. He had at least four different prior cases, some of them running into one another. 

In 2019, he was convicted of carrying a pistol without a license in and sentenced in February 2020 to a year behind bars plus 15 months probation. But prosecutors say while on probation, Macedo was arrested and charged with burglary. He was sentenced on June 9, 2021, to 18 months incarceration with 12 months suspended and two years of probation.

The USAO court filing reads: "On that same date, the Court revoked his probation in the CPWL case, and sentenced the defendant to 12 months execution suspended as to all but 6 months, followed again by probation. Thus, the defendant received a total of 24 months’ incarceration." He was released after.

He was found to have violated that probation connected to sentencing in the CPWL case. Court records show he was charged in 2022 with GPS Tampering. The USAO court filing also says Macedo failed to report for mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment and tested positive for cocaine.

"CSOSA, the defendant ‘has displayed a blatant disregard to conditions set forth by the court,’" the USAO Wednesday court filing also reads.

In May 2022 Macedo was charged after getting into a shootout with a neighbor and in August 2022, he was arrested with making threats of bodily harm to a 7-Eleven employee. He was convicted in March 2022 and released. 

In the shootout case, investigators say an unregistered Ghost Gun was used. However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. essentially dropped charges against Macedo after his attorney argued Macedo fired at his neighbor in self-defense. Charges were dropped in June, but a trial date had been set for July 10 — five days after Emerson was killed.

It was noted that while the endangerment with a firearm charge included in D.C.'s emergency Prioritizing Public Safety Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 now makes firing a firearm in public in D.C. a felony, it also still includes room for self-defense. 

In October 2022, a prosecutor requested probation be revoked. The next month, it was noted that the defendant was struggling with drug testing. Then in January in 2023, "the defendant had many probation violations including missing office and home visits" the court docket read and It was once again recommended that probation be revoked. 

However, Judge Peter A. Krauthamer "continued the case to allow the defendant to get in compliance and to trail the defendant’s pending trial date."

Police took Macedo into custody Tuesday following their week-long investigation into the crime. Several different surveillance cameras caught images of the victim and the suspect, providing more insight into what happened between the two. 

According to the police affidavit, officers were called to the school at 8:22 a.m. By 8:36 a.m., Emerson was pronounced dead and a homicide investigation began. 

Emerson’s mom says at some point during the incident, she received a message from her son saying, "Help. Bring robbed. At cub point." She believes he was trying to tell her he needed help and had been robbed. 

Court documents say the 25-year-old was seen on surveillance video with his hands raised, facing the suspect in a "don’t shoot" manner at around 7:32 a.m.  There’s some kind of talking between the two before Macedo gets close to Emerson and tries to snatch something from him. 

Police say Emerson reacts and tackles the suspect to the ground. There’s a short struggle as they wrestle around that ends with Emerson face-down and the suspect trying to flee. 

At least two witnesses described seeing a man running away. Police are calling this an attempted robbery and shooting.

It was said in court documents that the DNA from a ski mask found on scene traced back to Macedo and the judge is holding him not just based on evidence but on his criminal past and his history of being non-compliant while on supervision.

Police say a cut-up GPS ankle monitor was discovered in Macedo's home after a search warrant was executed.

FOX 5 did ask a court spokesperson about a court docket entry noting Macedo had multiple probation violations but we were told via email they are "prohibited, per the DC Judicial Code of Conduct, from discussing these matters."

The funeral for Emerson will be held on Monday, July 17 at Southeast Christian Church Crestwood Campus.