During a Feb. 8 hearing that comes almost two years after a defendant was charged with first-degree murder while armed, a defendant pleaded down to a manslaughter charge.
Keonte Johnson, 22, admitted to shooting 24-year-old Deandre Hawkins on April 22, 2019 on the 5300 block of E Street, SE.
The plea deal reduced his charge to voluntary manslaughter while armed. All other charges, which included possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business and armed robbery, were dropped as part of the agreement.
DC Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna scheduled Johnson to be sentenced on May 4.
Sarah Gebrengus wrote this article.
