Domestic Violence Defendant Pleads Guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter

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A homicide defendant initially charged with first-degree murder pleaded guilty to shooting of his on-and-off girlfriend in 2021.

On July 10, 2021, MPD officers found 34-year-old Vanessa Brooks-Williams lying unresponsive in the living room of a one bedroom apartment in the 5100 block of Fitch Street SE with a single gunshot wound to the head. A single .380 caliber bullet casing was located on the floor.

On Oct. 13, Klein Lawrence pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed with a firearm and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior violent conviction.

According to court documents, an anonymous caller named Lawrence, or “Lucky”, as the suspect and urged the police to arrest him because he could murder someone else. Two more anonymous callers and an anonymous text also told police Lawrence was the suspect in the shooting.

Surveillance footage shows Lawrence arriving in a vehicle and walking up the sidewalk to Brooks-Williams’ building the night of the shooting. He is seen interacting with her at the front door before going off-camera.

Around 9:41 p.m., Lawrence leaves Brooks-Williams’ apartment carrying a handgun and flees the scene in his car. Detectives identified the same car pulled up to the same parking spot earlier in the evening.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, which had an existing case on the defendant, provided body camera footage further confirming the car was driven by Lawrence.

According to court documents, the shooting was related to a domestic incident between Lawrence and Brooks-Williams, who was an on-and-off girlfriend. Another witness told police that on the day of the shooting, “Lucky” poured bleach on his girlfriend before getting into an argument with her at a mall.

A witness, who had been living with Brooks-Williams, was using the bathroom when the witness heard Brooks-Williams and Lawrence arguing in the apartment before hearing a single gunshot.

Lawrence was arrested on July 21, 2021, a day after the homicide, but was not arraigned until Sept. 28, 2021, due to hospitalization. According to court documents, Lawrence threatened to kill himself when confronted by police, shouting “I didn’t do anything; I’m going to kill myself, shoot me.” The police tased him, causing him to fire then drop his gun.

During the arrest, MPD recovered a firearm matching the .380 bullet casing found at the crime scene.

As a result of Lawrence’s resistance, he was additionally charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault on a police officer and carrying a pistol without a license.

Lawrence was held in jail pending plea negotiations until a competency issue was brought up to DC Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna, who ordered a preliminary competency screening on Nov. 30, 2021.

On Feb. 22, DC Superior Court Judge Judge Marisa Demeo ordered a full competency examination, which resulted in a competent to stand trial finding on March 31. Hearings were rescheduled into the summer and fall pending negotiations as parties were allocated time to review the prevailing plea offer.

Lawrence is scheduled to appear for a sentencing on Dec. 16.

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