18-year-old D.C. shooting suspect also faced murder charge

An 18-year-old arrested this week in connection with a December shooting in Southeast D.C. was under high-intensity supervision after his release from jail as he awaited trial in a murder case, according to prosecutors.

Javon Hale, of Southeast, still faces charges from a 2010 homicide — the fatal shooting of Manuel D. Sanchez — but was released from jail in November after a defense attorney filed a motion for his release and prosecutors did not object, said William Miller, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Morin approved Mr. Hale's release Nov. 19, according to court records.

An attorney with knowledge of the case said prosecutors would not be able to go forward with the murder charge against Mr. Hale after issues with witness identification. Another man, Rafael Douglas, remains charged with first-degree murder in the death of Sanchez but remains in jail pending his trial.

At the time of that shooting, Mr. Hale was a ward of the District's Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.

A little more than a month after his release from jail, police said Mr. Hale was involved in a Dec. 26 shooting near the Potomac Avenue Metro Station. He was charged with assault with intent to kill in relation to that shooting and kidnapping in relation to a separate incident, according to court records and police.

The Metropolitan Police Department released video showing four men hurriedly entering the Eastern Avenue Metro Station shortly after the shooting and sought to identify them. In addition to the video, a GPS monitoring device that Mr. Hale was required to wear as part of his supervision in the murder case also indicates that he was at the scene of the Dec. 26 shooting, which left one man injured.

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