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Man charged in attacks of homeless men in DC, NYC being held without bond
Fox 5's Stephanie Ramirez reports on Wednesday's court hearing for Gerald Brevard III, the man charged in attacks of homeless men in D.C. and New York City.
WASHINGTON - The man charged in connection with three D.C. attacks on homeless people was ordered held without bond in court Wednesday.
30-year-old Gerald Brevard III is facing first degree murder and two assault charges for three different crimes targeting the vulnerable at odd hours in D.C. – in one of those cases, a 54-year-old homeless man was killed.
Court documents released for Wednesday’s arraignment revealed new and disturbing information on that homicide of a 54-year-old homeless man, where the victim was found stabbed and shot after his body was discovered in a tent fire on New York Avenue Northeast back on March 9th.
In those court documents, investigators said surveillance video from a nearby gas station on the 500 block of Florida Avenue NE appeared to show a suspect "get gasoline from the pumps and put it in a cup." The documents then described difference surveillance videos, at different moments, capturing someone presumed to be the same suspect, seen in dark clothing, going back to the victim’s location, bending down repeatedly and later leaving the area.
That crime is one of five shootings being investigated between D.C. and New York. As of Wednesday’s arraignment hearing, Brevard III is only facing charges for the three D.C. offenses.
The 30-year-old’s attorney argued for Brevard’s release, noting there was no DNA evidence, admission from Brevard III, or firearm recovered that would link him to the crime.
The judge ordered Brevard III held without bond, cited several pieces of evidence, including a credible witness account, ATF ballistics linking the same .22 caliber shell chasings to the 5 shootings, cell location pins, and matching surveillance video between D.C. AND New York City.
"I guess I’m still in shock because to me, I just did what we normally do. Me and my officials normally share information as we get it. But like I said, the real credit goes to the detectives because all I did was notice the post. They the one’s that actually acted on it," said D.C. Police Captain Kevin Kentish. D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee credited the D.C. investigator, and New York City-native, with discovering the connection between D.C.’s three and New York City’s two shootings targeting homeless people.
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Kentish told FOX 5 he often finds news comes across Twitter first and often keeps tabs of his hometown, noticing the suspect images the New York City Police Department released in their investigation had similarities to the D.C. cases. NYPD released their images first, said Kentish. His discovery spurred NYPD and MPD to connect. They held a news conference earlier this week to announce that connection, which drew a number of tips to the department. Chief Contee said it was one tip caller in particular, who was able to identify the suspect.
Brevard III’s lawyers say he will be pleading the 5th and 6th amendments.
Earlier Wednesday morning, Brevard III’s father posted a statement to Facebook offering his condolences to the victims. Brevard Jr. offered his condolences to the victims and their families. He also said he did not have the details of the investigation and could not comment on the case, but did also write in part of his post:
"I can, however, speak on who my son is. He is a good person and like many across the world, he suffers from mental illness. The bigger picture is not that he has mental illness, but the number of times that he’s been within the judicial system and how the system has failed regarding the treatment of so many, including my son."
Brevard III is due back in court April 1st.
Court documents also noted many of the crimes in D.C. and New York City took place in the early morning hours. The location of the D.C. homicide from March 9th was one half miles from the March 3rd shooting and less than 3 miles from the March 8th shooting, court documents noted.
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A person identified as "Witness 3" in court documents is the "tipster" who told investigators that they personally knew Brevard III. That person provided police with a cell phone and Instagram account for Brevard III. Police were then able to use the social media account to track a phone number and cell phone locations for Brevard III.
Investigators said that same cell phone number was the number Brevard III provided to investigators when apprehended.
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According to court documents, cell phone records obtained placed Brevard III in Washington D.C. on March 11th, in New York City on March 12th and back in D.C. the morning of March 13th.