but former redskin, fred smoot, testified in his own defense, and had a different version of that argument. smoot testified he needed the keys to that truck because she had the only set, and his escalade wasn't working. he said he had to go to work at comcast in bethesda maryland on a redskins game day, and she told him to take a cab or call a friend. he said he got frustrated and kicked the door open. but didn't hit her. he ripped her shorts he said to keep her from running outside partly clothed. he said she was trying to ruin my career because i broke up with her in october. and refused to pay her medical and legal bills. smoot was suspended from his broadcasting jobs after he was charged with misdemeanor assault in november. today judge jacob found smoot not guilty saying smoot didn't intend her harm even by busting in the bathroom door concluding why didn't ms. jackson just give him the keys and let him go to work. >> i have put together a pretty good portfolio, and i was working for some pretty good companies. and i just want that back. i just want them to know before this happened i

but former redskin, fred smoot, testified in his own defense and had a different version of that argument. smoot testified that he needed the keys to that truck, because she had the only set, and his wasn't working. he said he had to go to work at comcast in bethesda maryland on a redskins game day, and she told him to take a cab or call a friend. he said he got frustrated and kicked the door open. but didn't hit her. he ripped her shorts he said to keep her from running outside partly clothed. he said she was trying to ruin my career because i broke up with her in october and refused to pay her medical and legal bills. smoot was suspended from his broadcasting jobs after he was charged with misdemeanor assault in november. moments after fred smoot was found not guilty i asked him what he has gone through, waiting for this trial. >> i never wanted my name to be attached to domestic violence and i know the climate going on right now with the situation. i just want people to know i've never touched a woman. i never will touch a woman. it's not just part of who i am. >> i know what happened.

in the end former redskins corner back fred smoot was cleared of all domestic violence charges. >> i would just like to get my jobs back. i'd like for people to give me a chance. >> reporter: inside this loudoun county courthouse today both fred smoot and his former live-in girl friend valerie jackson agreed smoot asked jackson for keys to his truck. she didn't give them up. he kicked in the bathroom door where she was locked in. that's where the similarities end. >> this has been a campaign that gap to ruin fred professionally. >> reporter: smoot's attorney said smoot and jackson had broken up. she was mad he wouldn't give her money for lawyers and doctors and refused to give him keys to the truck he needed to drive to work. smoot admitted breaking the bathroom door out of frustration but testified he never touched jackson with any intent to large. >> when you believe in something, you fight for it. i know what happened. he knows what happened. the truth is the truth. >> reporter: but jackson said smoot kicked in the door, grabbed and pushed her, ripping her shorts, then took her ph

former redskins fred smoot is in court to face domestic assault charges. plus a trial that much of the country will be watching is under way. the surviving boston marathon bombing suspect is in court. why it could be slow and tough to the start of this trial. and we're keeping an eye on two big weather changes. dropping temperatures by midweek. these 40s will be in the 20s and there could be snow. good morning, everyone. i'm barbara harrison. despite a cold wind this morning, maybe the warmest part of our week. and by this time tomorrow snow could be on the ground. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell joins us now with his first forecast. good morning, chuck. >> good morning, everybody. don't be fooled by the sunshine out there. cold air is overrunning the mid-atlantic. this will lead to our first legitimate chance of maybe an inch of snow in the downtown washington area by tomorrow at this same time. here's our official forecast map. maybe up to an inch in the metro area. maybe a couple of inches out to the north and west. this is not going to be a major

fred smoot is facing domestic assault charges. his trial starts today. prosecutors say he hurt his former girlfriend valerie jackson at her home in ashburn. smoot denies the claims. over in fairfax county, a trial date will be set for jayson werth. he was convicted of reckless driving last month and sentenced to 10 days in jail. he is now appealing that conviction. last july his porsche was clocked going 100 miles per hour on the beltway. muriel bowser will be on capitol hill fighting for d.c. voting rights. muriel bowser will attend a news conference with holmes-norton. yesterday on "meet the press" bowser talked about why it is important for washington financially independent. the mayor will make a case to restore the district's vote as a committee as a whole. this is happening 10:30 inside the cannon house office building. >>> a big break for search crews as they try to find the missing plane's black boxes. >>> temperatures beginning to as cold weather rolls into our area. chuck bell with yourar forecast. >>> animal rights forecast. huh, fifteen minut

. >>> a judge cleared former redskin fred smoot of a domestic violence charge. the loudoun county judge found him not guilty today. police arrested him in november after an incident with his now ex-girl friend who was living with him. the two agreed in court smoot asked her for keys to his truck. she locked herself in the bathroom. he kicked in the door, but the two gave different accounts of what happened next. in the end the judge said what he heard did not rise to the level of domestic violence. >> i would just like to get my jobs back. i would like for people to give me a chance. >> i know what happened. he knows what happened. the truth is the truth. >> smoot was suspended from several tv and radio commentator jobs, no word what will happen with that next. >>> scores of mourners from around the country flew in today for a funeral of a man from leesburg who disappearance in mexico galvanize folk from across the world and the internet. they -- folks from across the world and the internet. they got together to remember 25-year-old yoga instructor marry simran

. >>> former washington redskins fred smoot was found not guilty of misdemeanor charges of domestic assault. smoot was accused of saw thing his former live-in girl friend in november. following his arrest smoot was suspended from local on air jobs as a football analyst and he said today he hopes to get back on the air. >>>. >>> former new york governor mario cuomo will be laid to rest tomorrow. the funeral for tomorrow morning at st. ignatius loyola church on new york tess park avenue. a wake was held this -- new york city park avenue. a wake was held this evening. >>> a member of the grand jury in the michael brown shooting is suing the local prosecutor trying to get a life time gag order lifted. the lawsuit doesn't name the grand juror, but that juror wants to speak publicly about serving on the panel. the grand jury declined to bring charges against former ferguson missouri police officer darren wilson over michael brown's death. >>> a judge ordered self-taught survivalist eric frein to stand trial. he is accused of shooting two police officers killing one of them before he eluded police

. >>> today fred smoot will go on trial for domestic assault. prosecutors say he hurt his former girlfriend valerie jackson at her home in ashburn. she showed photos on instagram showing bruises. >>> jayson werth convicted of reckless driving last month and sentenced to 10 days in jail. he is now appealing that conviction. last july his porsche was clocked going 100 miles per hour on the beltway. >>> one of her fitter official duties as mayor. muriel bowser will be on capitol hill fighting for d.c. voting rights. muriel bowser will attend a news conference with holmes-norton. yesterday on "meet the press" bowser talked about why it is important for washington financially independent. >> we can start with the budget. unhooking our government from the federal government. >> we wouldn't be talking about lawsuits. >> or shutting down the government when congress can't figure it out. >> this is all happening at 10:30 inside the cannon house office building. >>> considering limiting will the yearly property tax increase eight months after the board im

. >>> tomorrow fred smoot expected to go on trial, accused of domestic assault against his girlfriend valerie jackson. since august she's posted instagram pictures. smooth's lawyer claims jackson is upset that the 35-year-old broke off their relationship. smooth is suspended from comcastsportsnet which is owned by the same company as nbc4. >>> all greek life on the campus at the university of virginia could pick back up this week. all fraternities and sororities were suspended back in november. president theresa sullivan suspended the organizations after a 2012 alleged sexual assault incident was highlighted in that "rolling stone" article. even though claims in that article have come into question for not being true president sullivan kept the suspension in place saying the university is working to reform its party culture and improve safety. >>> from his friendly wager to his plans for the future ted leonsis goes one-on-one with oun own jim vants. he says the one thing he wants to do to unite the city of d.c. and the country. >>> this picture of a d.c. streetcar t-borning a car. wha

. >>> and former redskins star fred smoot, talks to news4 after being found not guilty of domestic assault. >> first thing that came to my mind is picking up the pieces and getting my life back. >>> first at 5:00 tonight, ready or is not, folks, a snowstorm is on our doorstep. >> and auto winter weather advisory. >> live team coverage at this hour because by the time most of us wake up in the morning, there will be snow on the ground. >> and some schools may have to make a tough call overnight. the plan to get your kids ready for school we'll keep you updated throughout the evening. doug kammerer joins us to break down the timing of all of this. doug? [ no audio ] >> currently sitting at 27 right now. 18 in gaithersburg. so it's already on the cold side. fredericksburg around 34 degrees. there is nothing on the radar right now. that storm is still well off to our west. back cords the chicago area. you can see the snow making its way through portions of iowa, through portions of the illinois area. it will move into our region and that's why we have that winter weather advisory from 4:00 a.m

. >>> fred smooth smoopt -- fred smoot was free of all charges [ inaudible ] >>> a number of same-sex couples are getting ready to get married in florida today. yesterday a circuit court judge ruled president state's gay marriage ban was unconstitutional. same-sex marriage is now legal in 36 states and here in the district. >>> the know is piling up and so are the closings and delays for schools. >> indeed. delia goncalves join us live from the newsroom with a look at who is opening late. >> reporter: lots of kids sleeping in this morning. i used to love snow days when i was a kid waiting for the reports to come in. and they are coming in fast and furious, just like the snowfall and a -- in a lot of the live shots we've seen. we heard from d.c. ddot. if you live in the city, you've got to wake up because everything seems to be going as planned. and everything seems to be fine in d.c. right now with a lot of trucks on the road dropping some salt to make sure that folks can get to their destination safely and on time. but let's take a look at some of the closures that have come in so fa

a judge in loudoun county found former washington redskins player fred smoot not guilty of domestic assault. today's bench trial involved smoot's november arrest which was in ashburn to his then girlfriend told police he grabbed her during an arcgument. smoot denied the accusations. he spent nine seasons in the nfl all but two in washington. he now does sports commentary on radio and tv. >> still ahead on abc 7 news at 5:00, what's being blamed for the fire that injured three people and forced 15 others from their homes. >> plus only on 7, we'll have an inside look at what new d.c. mayor muriel bowser is already doing much differently than her predecessor. >> a conflict is boiling in one d.c. neighborhood. a condo board is facing off against some little kids. >> this is an interesting sight. a battle is building now between a condo board and preschoolers. >> that's right. advocates for both groups now are fighting over a small piece of property in the columbia heights neighborhood. both say it belongs to them. steven breaks it all down for us right now. what's the story here? >> well leon t

. >> reporter: all charges dropped in the domestic violence case against former redskin fred smoot, what he wants to do next and reaction from his ex-girl friend. >>> folks, get ready to see some flakes fly through the dmv for your morning commute. thanks for joining us. i'm jan jeffcoat. >> i'm derek mcginty. the wusa9 first alert weather team is calling tomorrow a yellow alert day and erica grow with more on when and where it's expected to hit. >> the when is the main problem. the snow will fall during that morning commute. in fact, it's going to start further west of us before sunrise. this system will head toward us west to east. you can see the winter weather advisory is in effect for the entire immediate metro area and all points north and northwest of that going into effect at 4 a.m. and be with us until 1 p.m. tomorrow. the snow arriving before dawn even in the peltway it will get here before sunrise. most of the snow will fall during that morning commute and we'll see snow taper off to just flurries and a quick snow shower in the afternoon. the good news is that it's powdery sno

. >>> also coming up this week former redskin fred smoot expected to go on trial, accused of domestic assault against his girlfriend valerie jackson at her home in ashburn. since august she's posted instagram pictures showing scratches and marks on her body. she says jackson is upset she broke up with him. >>> today we could learn more about a plane crash that killed four people leaving one sole survivor. they're calling it an unimaginable tragedy. a 7-year-old girl showed up at a stranger's door asking for help. here is nbc's dan sheneman. >> reporter: it was the first sign anything was wrong. a knock at larry wilkins' door friday evening. >> i answered the door. and the little girl 7 or 8 years old standing there bleeding legs and all scratched up arms scratched up. she said her mom and dad were dead. she had been in a plane crash. >> 7-year-old sailor gutsler survived the crash and walked three miles through the dark woods. police rushed in. it took more than two hours to locate the plane in the dense woods. killed in the crash, her parents, marty and came berly gutsler. her 9-year