Grand Jury Returns 17-Count Indictment Charging Gerald Brevard III With Murder, Multiple Counts of Assault, and Hate Crimes
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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