Judge Finds Substantial Probability in March Homicide

By D.C. Witness Staff - September 5, 2018
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

A DC Superior Court judge found substantial probability Sept. 4 that a defendant was involved in the murder of a man he was sexually involved with.

Jerome Wilson is charged with second-degree murder while armed for fatally shooting Sean Anderson on the 2300 block of Good Hope Road, SE in March. According to a detective on the case, the exact day of death could not be determined. 

According to court documents, Wilson, 35, told Metropolitan Police Department detectives that he had sex with Anderson, 48, on the night of March 23.

On March 24, police responded to Good Hope Road and found Anderson unconscious and naked on a couch. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia determined that Anderson had been dead for approximately 24 hours, placing his death somewhere between the night of March 23 and the early morning on March 24.  The cause of death a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

During a preliminary hearing, a detective said multiple witnesses, as well as surveillance footage, confirmed that Wilson was in Anderson’s apartment and the last person to see him alive.

During his initial interview, Wilson told police that he had never been to Anderson’s apartment complex. He later admitted to lying, saying he did go to Anderson’s apartment.

Wilson said he was in Anderson’s apartment and saw the decedent smoking crack cocaine. Wilson said he left the apartment because he felt uncomfortable. However, Wilson later told police he lied again, confessing to smoking crack cocaine and watching pornography with Anderson on March 23. 

According to a witness, Wilson said he was at the hospital visiting a family member during the early morning hours on March 24. However, the family member told police that Wilson never showed.

The same witness told police that Anderson had a revolver on the night of the murder. During cross-examination, Wilson’s defense attorney, Dana Page, noted that the lead detective wrote, in court documents, that the murder weapon was not a revolver. However, the detective testified he learned new information on Sept. 4, which led him to believe the murder weapon could be a revolver.

The detective told the court that during a subsequent interview, Wilson told police that he “felt bad” and “wished he could take it back.” However, Page pointed out that police did not ask Wilson what he felt bad about or what he wished he could take back.

Judge Ronna Beck found substantial probability based on Wilson’s access to the revolver, witness testimony, surveillance footage and Wilson’s attempts to create false alibis.

Judge Beck also ordered Wilson be held without bond. Apparently, Wilson has two prior felony convictions: for unauthorized use of a vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Wilson is scheduled for a felony status conference on Dec. 27.