The indictment charges Gerard Brevard III 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. The indictment only charges offenses committed in Washington, D.C.
Brevard set out on the biased attacks March 3, when he assaulted the first victim with a gun in an effort to kill him on the 1100 block of New York Avenue in Washington DC, according to the indictment returned by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and local authorities.
On Tuesday, March 8, police responded to the 1700 block of H Street, where another man had been shot. He, too, was hospitalized with serious and permanent injuries, authorities said. The next day, Brevard shot and stabbed Morgan Holmes, 54, killing him.
Brevard then made his way to New York City, where he shot a 38-year-old man was shot in the arm while sleeping on King Street near Varick Street on March 12, authorities previously said. Later that day, around 5 p.m., another man was shot in the head and neck, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses in the area reported hearing gunshots at approximately 6 a.m.
Brevard is to be arraigned on the charges on Oct. 18, 2022, at a hearing before Judge Robert Okun.
As a result of the grand jury alleging the murder and assaults were bias-related hate crimes, Brevard may face up to 1 ½ times the maximum term of imprisonment for the murder and assaults if found guilty at trial.
Brevard was arrested on March 15, 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.
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