Judge Rejects Murder Charge Against Worker at Oak Hill

A D.C. Superior Court judge has dismissed a murder charge against a man who worked at the school serving the District's juvenile detention facility in Laurel.

James W. Irving, 42, had been charged this month with felony murder in the August 1998 slaying of Michael N. Womack, 24, outside a Southeast Washington apartment building. One of the bullets pierced the building and wounded a 10-year-old boy who had been asleep in bed.

Judge Harold L. Cushenberry Jr. dismissed the case Friday, finding no probable cause to sustain the charge and hold Irving, who has been released from jail. In charging documents, prosecutors relied heavily on a statement from a new witness, who came forward to allege that he saw Irving fire a gun the night of the shooting.

Prosecutors protested the judge's decision in court.

"This case is not over," Channing Phillips, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said in an interview yesterday. "We're going to continue to investigate this case."

Irving had worked at Oak Hill for more than a year. He was an employee of Oak Hill Academy, which is run for the city by the nonprofit See Forever Foundation.

His formal title was behavioral specialist, but his tasks, officials said, were more akin to a hall monitor at the school, attended by youth locked up for various crimes.

Irving had a history of drug arrests, including convictions in a 1989 drug case and a 1993 case involving charges of obstructing justice and conspiracy. He was on parole until 2015, under the supervision of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency.

Irving might still face sanctions regarding his parole, officials said. "We are going to view the circumstances of the case and make decisions," said Leonard Sipes, a spokesman for the agency.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who had often advocated giving new opportunities to ex-offenders, said earlier that Irving's criminal past should have disqualified him for a job at the school because "he is in direct contact with young people." Several ex-offenders, however, continue to work with students at Oak Hill as well as juveniles who are released on probation after serving part of their sentence.