WASHINGTON – A man charged with attacking a 69-year-old inside D.C.’s Eastern Market Metro station will be released from jail next week.
Elijah Smith, 19, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday morning; the D.C Superior Court judge ordered him to be released from jail on Monday as part of a pre-trial program.
Smith is required to wear a GPS monitoring ankle bracelet, follow a curfew and stay away from the alleged victim in the case. The program also offers anger management classes.
Metro Transit Police say Smith spat on and punched 69-year-old Albert Langeberg inside the station on April 24. The man collapsed and was treated at the hospital for his injuries. The incident was recorded on surveillance video.
Smith is charged with felony assault and may face a tougher penalty because of the victim’s age.
Lauckland Nicholas, Smith’s defense attorney, says his client is remorseful. “Remorse, yeah, but not guilty. Remember he is presumed innocent until found guilty. He wished what happened, didn’t happen. Sometimes things happen for one reason or another,” Nicholas says.
