The man accused of attacking a transgender woman in D.C.'s Chinatown neighborhood in August rejected a government plea offer Wednesday, prompting a D.C. Superior Court judge to schedule him for a February 2013 trial.
Ahmad Robinson, 29, of Silver Spring, is charged with simple assault for hitting a transgender woman.
After not appearing for a Nov. 6 status hearing, a bench warrant issued for Robinson's arrest. He presented himself three days later, and the case was continued to Nov. 14, at which time Judge Herbert Dixon scheduled a Feb. 6 trial.
Robinson remains released on bond. He must continue to report to the court's Pretrial Services Agency (PSA), continue with a drug treatment program, submit to regular drug testing and stay away from the victim in the case.
According to charging documents, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department found the victim at the corner of 5th and K Streets NW after responding to reports of an assault in progress in the Chinatown neighborhood at 12:45 a.m., Aug. 10. Robinson allegedly asked the victim, a transgender woman, if she was female or male. Upon learning she was transgender, he knocked a beer out of her hand and hit her with a closed fist. She then chased him into a nearby Safeway store, but lost track of him.
An hour later, the victim spotted and positively identified Robinson, who was walking near the scene of the crime, as her attacker, whereupon the MPD officers arrested him.
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