Ward 8 advisory neighborhood commissioner Kendall Simmons, the chairperson of ANC 8E, pleaded guilty last month to attempted threats to do bodily harm for threatening to kill the mother of his child. For the misdemeanor crime, Simmons received a 60-day suspended sentence, meaning he will serve no jail time if he stays out of trouble, and a $50 fine, according to court records.
Simmons is still facing a felony charge for threatening to kill a fellow ANC, Chris Hawthorne. That incident occurred in January, just a few days after Simmons threatened the woman. The two feuded over some drama related to Simmons’ election as chair of the ANC. Simmons defeated Hawthorne, but Hawthorne claims the election didn’t count because a non-voting member participated.
The two men nearly came to blows and had to be separated during a public meeting, according to court records. At one point, witnesses told police, Simmons went to his vehicle to retrieve a gun—or at least to make it look like he was doing so.
“You know that if you would have got on my bad side, I would [shoot] you in the head,” Simmons allegedly said to Hawthorne, according to court records. “I don’t care nothing about your family.”
Hawthorne responded: “This is the third time you’ve said this. If you have a problem with me, Kendall, there is nothing but space and opportunity between us.”
Hawthorne also showed police that he’d received a call from Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White the morning after the incident. During the conversation, Hawthorne told LL in January, White tried to arrange a meeting to resolve the issues and said Simmons can sometimes be “hot off the handle, but if you get on his bad side, something can happen.”
Simmons can continue to serve on the ANC despite the misdemeanor guilty plea, but a felony conviction would disqualify him.
Court records show different home addresses for Simmons—one of which matches White’s home address in Southeast. White did not respond to a text message seeking comment. The number for Simmons on the ANC website is out of service, and he has not responded to an email.
Simmons was accused in 2017 of assaulting his girlfriend in a Maryland grocery store, and White posted his bail. Prosecutors opted not to pursue charges against Simmons in that case. It is not clear whether the alleged victim is the same woman who Simmons threatened earlier this year.