Month in Review: July

By D.C. Witness Staff - August 24, 2017
Court | Featured | Homicides |

There were twelve homicides in the month of July, and three cases were put to rest with a guilty verdict or plea.

Though there were the same number of homicides in July of 2017 as last July, there have been less homicides as compared to this time last year. There have been seventy-one homicides compared to seventy-three that took place from the beginning of 2016 to the end of July 2016.

Here is our monthly wrap-up of cases covered in July.

Homicides 

Of the twelve murders, eleven of them were shootings, and one was a stabbing. Of these homicides that occurred during the month, two arrests were made.

There were five murders in the Southeast quadrant of the city, three in the Northeast quadrant of the city, three in the Northwest quadrant of the city, and one in the Southwest quadrant of the city.

The first homicide victim George Denny Jr., 46, was discovered by police suffering from a gunshot wound. He was found in early morning of July 5, in the unit block of Galveston Street, SW. He was then transported to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. Police are still investigating the murder.

Later that night, on July 5, police discovered 43-year-old Malachi Yisrael and a juvenile male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. They were transported to a local hospital where Yisrael was pronounced dead.

Yisrael was a man who was familiar with the criminal process, starting when he shot another man at the age of 13 and later when he was charged for robbery and possession of heroin.  He decided to turn his life around and took advantage of a D.C. Department of Transportation program that lead to his work as a construction engineer.

An alleged drug deal between Yisrael and Lamont McDonald, 16, led to a confrontation, that left the 43-year-old dead and the 16-year-old critically injured. McDonald was charged with second-degree murder while armed on July 14 and will be tried as an adult.

In court on July 31, McDonald’s attorney argued that he was defending himself from Yisrael, while the prosecutor said that he had acted with intent in killing Yisrael. Judge Jose Lopez ruled that there was probable cause and the case will go on. He is set to appear back in court on Sept. 15.

A few days after the murders of Denny and Yisrael, the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Kennedy Javier Amaya-Olivares occurred on July 8. Amaya-Olivares and another unidentified victim were found in the 3500 block of Water St., NW, suffering from gunshot wounds. Amaya-Olivares was pronounced dead on the scene and the unidentified victim was transported to the hospital. Police have not yet released any suspect information.

Nearly two weeks passed without a murder, until 26-year-old Marcus Stephens was fatally shot on July 20. He was discovered in the 1000 block of 17th Street, NE, suffering from multiple gun shot wounds. Stephens was then transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police are still investigating this shooting.

Another homicide occurred on July 21 around 10:00 p.m., in the 5000 Block of H St., SE. Andrew Jahmal Johnson, 42, was discovered by police suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Police have not yet released any suspect information.

A day after the fatal shooting of Johnson, 32-year-old Shameka Delephine Jones was fatally shot. She was discovered suffering from multiple gun shot wounds on July 22, in the 2200 block of Savannah Terrace, SE. Jones was pronounced dead on the scene.

Police arrested 40-year-old Ronald Randolph, Jr., and he was charged with first-degree murder while armed. According to a Washington Post article, Randolph had just been released from prison for a 1999 murder.

The following week on July 26, around 8:30 am, Victor Williams was discovered suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was found on on the Anacostia River Trail, south of the 3300 block of East Capitol Street, SE. The shooting is currently under investigation.

Later that day Daniel Shelton Parker was discovered by police suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was found across the river from where Williams was killed in the 2000 block of Fairlawn Ave, SE. DC fire and EMS reported no signs consistent with life and he was pronounced dead. Police have yet to release any suspect information.

Four victims died on July 30. The first was 32-year-old Demond Marcel Rush. Rush was discovered by police on July 29, around 1:15 a.m., in the 3600 block of 22nd Street, SE, suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was transported to a hospital for treatment of his life threatening injuries. On July 30, Rush succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

Keith Archie was charged with second-degree murder while armed, in court on Aug. 9. At his arraignment hearing, his attorney argued that the affidavit didn’t indicate he was connected to the offense and there were no witnesses to the murder. The government stated that there had been an argument between Rush and Archie prior to the murder and Archie was found with blood on his clothes. Judge Sean Staples found probable cause that he committed the murder and he was ordered held, until his preliminary hearing on Aug. 29.

Around 1:59 a.m., on July 30, two adult males, 24-year-old Juan Carlos Osorio-Herrera and 23-year-old David Santiago Amaya-Medrano were discovered suffering from gunshot wounds. They were discovered in the 4800 block of Kansas Ave., NW, where Osorio-Herrera was pronounced dead. DC fire and EMS transported Amaya-Medrano to the hospital were he later succumbed to his injuries and died. Police have released a video, which shows a person of interest.

The last homicide of the month occurred on July 30, around 2:55 p.m., in the 4400 block of Quarles St., NE. Jermaine Richards Jr., 17, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. DC fire and EMS found no signs consistent with life and he was pronounced dead. Tyrell T. Moody, 23, was charged with second-degree murder while armed, in court on Aug. 9 and he is being held until his preliminary hearing on Aug. 18.

A woman’s death was ruled a homicide in July. 42-year-old Yashika Green, died on July 21 after a shooting in March. Green was shot inside a residence on the 200 Block of Wayne Place, SE. The medical examiner determined her death resulted from complications from a gunshot wound and the manner of death to as a homicide. Police have not yet released any suspect information.

Court

July saw one suspect plead guilty to murder. Thomasine Bennet, 67, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for killing 63-year-old Walter Clark. Clark’s battered body was found in Bennett’s house in February. Upon police arrival, Bennett admitted to beating Clark with a metal bat and said, “she was tired of loving him.”  In an article from the Washington Post, family members said they don’t believe the two had a romantic relationship, but instead Clark was killed over an insurance check. Judge Jose Lopez is set to decide whether or not to accept the plea deal in court on Sept. 22. If the deal is accepted, Bennett would be sentenced to ten years in prison.

There were two trials that delivered guilty verdicts in the month of July, as Eugene Burns and Mark Beasley were both found guilty of first-degree murder while armed.

Eugene Burns was found guilty of the murder of Onyekachi Osuchukwu III. Burns shot and killed Osuchukwu in the 2900 block of 2nd St., SE in November of 2015. Burns shot him, after inviting him to D.C. and luring him to Burns’ mother’s house, following a drug-related dispute. During the course of the trial Burns changed his original story to self-defense. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 29.

Mark Beasley was also found guilty of the murder of Darryn Conte. The 39-year-old was shot and killed in April of 2015, in the 400 block of Butternut St., NW. Conte was shot after he almost hit Beasley’s friend with his elbow while doing a dance in the Takoma Station club. Conte and his friend were approached by Beasley, in their car after they had left, and he started arguing with them. They drove off and parked in a nearby alley and then Beasley fired multiple shots into the car, killing Conte and injuring his friend. He is set to be sentenced on Oct 13.