Photo by NorthernCharmThe Washington Examiner’s Freeman Klopott reports that At-Large D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson is pushing a new bill that would turn a third simple assault conviction into a felony assault, which carries harsher penalties.
Simple assaults are misdemeanors punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail. For a felony assault, the fine would go up to $3,000 and could include up to three years in jail. In the case of a third simple assault charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office wouldn’t be able to lower the charge in a plea deal, a key piece of the bill since Mendelson said the U.S. Attorney’s Office routinely lowers charges in plea deals.
Mendelson’s inspiration for the bill came from two cases involving 20-year-old Robert Hannah. In 2008, Hannah was accused of beating a Maryland man to death. Hannah was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office reduced the charge to simple assault and Hannah pleaded guilty to it spending six months in jail. In July, the Washington Blade reported that Hannah was in jail again for an arrest in June that involved assaulting his girlfriend. Hannah pleaded guilty to a simple assault charge on July 19 and was sentenced to 100 days in jail.
Under Mendelson’s new bill, if Hannah were convicted a third time of a simple assault, “he’d have three strikes and be out,” Mendelson said.
The story’s kicker quote goes to police union chief Kris Baumann, who supports the bill but accused Mendelson of catering to the District’s gay community. “It would be nice to see Mendelson get serious about crime for everybody in the District, rather than just groups he feels the need to pander to,” Baumann said.
