Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Mother of the Defendant’s Child Beaten, Strangled in Her Home

WASHINGTON – John Brown III, 32, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of assault with significant bodily injury related to an incident that took place in Southeast Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

The verdict was returned on February 25, 2025, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where the defendant was also found guilty of three counts of obstructing justice and seven counts of contempt for coordinating subsequent coercive outreach in an attempt to discourage the victim’s participation in the court process, The Honorable Deborah Israel scheduled sentencing for May 16, 2025.

According to the government’s evidence, on July 4, 2023, the victim hosted a small game night attended by Brown, the father of her five-year-old son. When the party ended, all of the victim’s friends, but one, went home. While the remaining friend prepared to sleep on the couch, the victim went into her room and found Brown waiting for her. When she came in, the defendant started to berate her—even though Brown and the victim were no longer a couple, he was furious she had had a relationship with one of his friends. He repeatedly punched the victim in the face, then started to strangle her. The victim’s friend heard the noise and came running, tackling Brown and urging the victim to run. The victim tried but the defendant grabbed her ankle. Brown chased after the victim and struck her, causing her to fall onto the floor of her bathroom where she hit her head and passed out. Even after she woke up, the defendant continued to assault her until she and her friend were able to escape and call police. The complainant was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for injuries to her face, neck, and the blood vessels in her eye.

Although a Court ordered Brown to have no contact with the victim, directly or through third parties, he quickly started urging friends and family members to contact the victim and pressure her to drop the charges. He told one friend to tell the victim he would CashApp her that day if the charges were dropped; asked a family member to reach out to the victim daily to tell her to get the case thrown out; and even spent months urging his five-year-old son to “tell mommy to drop the case so dada can come home.” This pressure campaign against the complainant resulted in multiple convictions for obstructing justice and for violating the Court’s Stay Away Order.

In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Roessler and Amanda Swanson, from the Domestic Violence Felonies Unit, who prosecuted the case.

John Brown III, 32, Found Guilty of Assault with Significant Bodily Injury