The man charged with shooting a woman he knew in her Crystal City, Virginia, office on Aug. 28 has had his first court appearance in Arlington County District Court.
Mumeet Muhammad was arraigned on three felony counts: aggravated malicious wounding; use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, 2nd offense; and being a violent felon in possession of a weapon.
Muhammad allegedly forced his way into the office suite in the 1500 block of Crystal Drive and assaulted and shot the woman, before police shot Muhammad. He and the woman were taken to the hospital with severe injuries.
Though Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos hasn’t specified the relationship between Muhammad and the woman, Stamos said it falls under the category of a domestic relationship, and that the initial aspects of that charge will be held in Arlington Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Stamos told WTOP that Muhammad is next due in court for a probable cause hearing on the wounding count on Oct. 16, and the gun counts on Oct. 22.
If convicted, the penalty for aggravated malicious wounding is 20 years to life and/or a fine of up to $100,000.
Court records in the District show Muhammad, who was charged in D.C. as a fugitive after the Crystal City shooting, waived an extradition hearing and was transported to Arlington to stand trial.
In 1992, Muhammad, who was then known as Tonie Macklin, was convicted of murdering a man and sentenced to 37 years in prison. While his sentence dictated he stay behind bars until 2029, Muhammad was released on mandatory parole in June 2017, according to the Virginia Parole Board.
In July, Muhammad was arrested in D.C., accused of punching and threatening a man. He was charged with two misdemeanors.
“If you don’t come here, I’m going to shoot you in the [expletive] head right now,” Muhammad allegedly told the man, according to charging documents. A police search determined he did not have any weapons with him.
Then, on Aug. 9, court records show a woman was granted a temporary restraining order, saying she feared for her life because of threats by Muhammad.
On Aug. 20, U.S. Park Police arrested Muhammad near Fort Dupont Park in Southeast D.C. after police responded to reports of shots fired. The gun was recovered by a police search dog in the park.
D.C. prosecutors dropped the federal gun possession count. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the D.C. has not explained why prosecutors chose not to prosecute Muhammad — a convicted felon who allegedly had a gun, and was the subject of an ongoing restraining order.
