Three suspects plead guilty for roles in Cortez Clark’s murder

Three suspects pleaded guilty for roles in the death of 32-year-old Cortez Lamont Clark.

As part of a plea deal Tayvon Felton, 19, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and faces 12 to 18 years in prison.

Wade Wilson, 21, faces 6 to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed. Both men are currently being held without bond.

Ameesha Gray, 23, plead guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and unlawful use of vehicle. Gray was granted high intensity supervision pending sentencing.

A case for a fourth defendant, John Allen, is proceeding separately. Allen’s case is pending an indictment from the grand jury.

Following discussion of the plea deals, a prosecutor read aloud details of Clark’s murder in October 2015.

According to police, Clark was found dead in a hallway by a vacant apartment in Congress Heights. Clark’s lifeless body was found naked, with stab wounds and trauma. According to the prosecutor’s narrative, Gray lured Clark to the apartment using a social media app where Wilson, Felton and Allen were waiting. Allen was armed with a knife. The intent was to rob Clark, but he was assaulted and stabbed to death.

Gray and Felton fled the scene in Clark’s car after taking his keys.

Felton, Wilson and Gray are set to be sentenced June 2 by Judge Lee.

Double shooting kills one, leaves another wounded

Police are investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another wounded in Northeast D.C. Tuesday morning.

Ronnell Tye Reaves, of Suitland, Maryland was found dead on the scene. A second victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to police.

The shooting took place in the 600 block of 14th Pl., NE. Police have not yet released any suspect information.

Shooting in Northeast DC leaves one man dead

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of 44-year-old Anthony Irving Tuesday night.

Police responded to a report of a shooting and found Irving, unconscious, in the 4400 block of Hayes St., NE, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Irving’s body was taken to the office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Police have not yet identified any suspects.

D.C. Police searching for person of interest in recent Elvans Road shooting

D.C. police have identified a person of interest in the Anacostia shooting that killed 68-year- old Vivian Marrow on Monday morning.

This development comes a day after Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham held a press conference urging the community members to come forward with information pertaining to the shooting.

According to police, the suspect is a black male with a slim build who appears to be left handed.

In a video released by police, Marrow can be seen in her motorized wheelchair coming down a sidewalk while two men come running behind her. One man runs through a gate and out of the camera’s view. While the other man stops, appears to pivot back towards Marrow and proceeds to cut through a row of parked cars out to the Elvans Road. Marrow’s wheelchair is seen spinning in a circle as the video comes to a close.

Police are urging anyone who has details about the shooting to come forward.

Two men plead guilty for the fatal shooting of Aubrey Dansbury

Two men pleaded guilty in court last week for the killing of 27-year-old Aubrey Dansbury last March.

Anthony Wade, 31, accepted a plea deal for for second-degree murder while armed and faces a sentence of 15 to 24 years in prison. Antwain Bailey, 47, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed and will serve a 13 year prison term.

Both men are due to be sentenced on May 19, pending the judge’s approval of the plea deal.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Dansbury and Wade were arguing inside an apartment when the fight turned physical, and Wade called his uncle. The two men took the fight outside, when Wade’s uncle, Bailey, showed up and provided his nephew with a gun. Wade initially fired at Dansbury until his gun jammed, when his uncle helped unjam it. Wade then fatally shot Dansbury while he tried to seek cover in Bailey’s car.

The two men left in Bailey’s car, leaving Dansbury on the sidewalk.

Dansbury died about a week later from his injuries.

Interim Police Chief urges community members to come forward about Anacostia shooting

Interim Chief of Police Peter Newsham on Tuesday urged the community to come forward with any details about recent shooting in Anacostia.

According to police, 68-year-old Vivian Marrow was killed, and a second man was hospitalized after they were both shot Monday on the 2400 block of Elvans Road. Police said Marrow was on her way to the grocery store when she was shot.

“The circumstance is like I said– senseless. It’s tragic,” Newsham said. This is a beloved person– and I’ll say to the person who is responsible- you know what, you need to come in and let us know what you did. You may have a beef with somebody else…you’ve taken a woman out of a community who had no business losing her live at this point.”

Though Newsham said he couldn’t release the full details of the shooting he did say there were people at the scene of the crime who should have insight on the matter.

“It was broad daylight,” Newsham said. “It was a relatively mild day in that community there were a number of people out there, I was up on the scene shortly after it happened, so there are folks we really want to listen and if they have some information, to share it.”

According to Newsham, there is no established motive though it’s definite that Marrow was not the intended target. It’s unclear whether the man shot in the incident was the intended target. Police said they now believe there was a single shooter and not a shooter exchange, as previously reported.

At a press conference Tuesday when asked about a surveillance camera in the area, Newsham said they are not in a position to show the video.

Newsham acknowledged multiple times throughout the conference that community insight on the shooting would help further the investigation.

“At the end of the day we’re pretty certain there’s somebody out there that knows something,” Newsham said. “And the best thing they can do for this community and Washington D.C. as a whole is to come forward and let us know.”

Document: Charles Sims arrest warrant

Charles Sims was sentenced to 23 1/2 years in prison for the shooting death of Arthur Baldwin.

[documentcloud url=”http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2806399-Charles-Sims-charging-docs.html”]

Man sentenced for robbing, killing off-duty Secret Service Officer

One of the two men charged with robbing and shooting an off-duty Secret Service Officer was sentenced to 23 1/2 years in jail for murder.

Charles Sims pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed and armed robbery for shooting Arthur Baldwin last December as part of a plea deal. In addition to the murder sentence, Sims was sentenced to six years in prison for the armed robbery charge.

Maurice Bellamy was also arrested and charged with Baldwin’s murder. Bellamy is awaiting a trial, set to begin in April. Bellamy, 17, is also awaiting a trial on murder charges for allegedly shooting a 15-year-old on a metro platform.

According to the Washington Post, Baldwin had been on leave from the Secret Service for charges stemming from a domestic incident.

Interviews with witnesses included in the warrant affidavit for Bellamy and Sims’ arrest suggest Baldwin’s murder was the result of a robbery gone awry.

According to witness reports, three black men, later identified as Sims and Bellamy, approached Baldwin’s gray Nissan Altima on December 15 of last year. A person who accompanied Sims and Bellamy, said a fourth person told the three of them to rob Baldwin, alleging the suspended secret service agent was in the area to buy a large quantity of drugs from a known dealer in the area. In the documents, police say their investigation led them to believe Baldwin was in the area to visit a friend, not to purchase drugs. The three men were driven to the scene by the man giving the instruction. The third man, who is not named in the document, said Sims and Bellamy were armed with pistols. This account was consistent with other witness interviews, and the autopsy report which concluded Baldwin died after being shot five times by at least two different pistols, according to the documents.

According to Sims’ and Bellamy’s companion, Bellamy knocked on Baldwin’s passenger side window, and “asked him what time it was and then pointed a .38 caliber pistol at him.” Sims opened the driver side door, while the third person rifled through the trunk. According to that witness, Baldwin tried to get out of the car, and pushed Bellamy. Bellamy then shot him. Sims, standing on the passenger side, also shot the victim. Baldwin’s wallet and iPad were taken, but no money drugs or weapons were found, the witness said. When Bellamy saw the wallet had no money in it, he tossed it down a street drain, according to that witness. When police responded to 911 calls of a shooting, they found Baldwin across the street from his car without his wallet, with a silver watch on the ground nearby.

The witness told police the identities of the two suspects, which matched the descriptions provided by other witnesses at the scene. An additional witness interviewed by police said they heard Bellamy and Sims speaking in their apartment hallway about reports of a secret service officer killed. Sims, according to that witness, said he had fired at Baldwin during the course of a robbery. This witness said the fourth man, who drove the three would-be robbers to the scene then tried to sell them Baldwin’s stolen iPad.

Another person interviewed by police said they were present for a conversation had by Sims and Bellamy about the murder, in which Sims asked Bellamy why he shot Baldwin. Sims said he did it because Baldwin tried to “buck on him and take his pistol.” When Bellamy asked the same question, Sims said Bellamy was struggling with Baldwin, and once Bellamy had already shot Baldwin, he couldn’t be left there alive.

Mom charged with killing infant son released to halfway house

The mom charged with killing her one-month-old son was ordered released to a half-way house Friday.

Deana Debrow-Conley, charged with first-degree murder, appeared in court for her first preliminary hearing. A judge found probable cause for the case to move forward, and a grand jury will hear the allegations against Conley and decide whether to indict her.

According to police, Conley’s infant son was admitted to the hospital on July 19 of last year, after he was found unconscious and unresponsive. The baby died from his injuries on July 23, and his cause of death was ruled blunt neck trauma in December. Last month, Debrow-Conley was arrested in Philadelphia and arraigned on the murder charge in D.C. Superior Court.

She is next due to appear in court on April 7.

Trial date set for Dejuan Etheredge

A trial date has been set for the man charged with the murder of Uyer Hooper in September 2015.

Dejuan Etheredge, 27, was arrested the day of Hooper’s death. Etheredge was indicted on seven charges, including murder and assault with intent to kill, and pleaded not guilty.

According to police, at around 3:30 a.m. Sept. 6, 2015, Hooper, one of two men allegedly shot by Etheredge, was found in the 6400 block of 7th St. NW suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. The other man was taken to the hospital and survived.

A jury trial has been scheduled to begin Jan. 31.

Police identify suspect wanted for murder of Antina Pratt

Police are searching for a man, considered to be armed and dangerous, and wanted for the murder of Antina Pratt last November.

Police are circulating a photo of Elliot Avery Starks, who they are seeking to locate and charge with first-degree murder while armed. Police describe Starks as a 34-year-old black male, 5’11” tall, weighing 165 pounds. Starks has brown eyes, medium complexion and black hair.

According to police, Pratt was found suffering from multiple stab wounds in the 2600 block of Pomeroy Rd. SE. Pratt was declared dead at the scene.

Police have a warrant for Starks’ arrest and are asking for anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact them.

Police searching for person of interest in connection with Antoinios Butler murder

Police have released a video of a person of interest wanted in connection with the murder of Antoinios Deangelo Butler on New Year’s Eve.

The video shows a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt involved in some kind of verbal and physical altercation with another person on what appears to be a city bus.

According to police, Butler was found lying in the street suffering from a stab wound in the 4600 block of East Capitol Street. Butler was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police are asking for the public’s help in locating and identifying the man seen in the video below.

Andre Herndon Jr. sentenced for shooting death of Navontae Howard

Andre Herndon Jr. was sentenced to 9 years in jail for the murder of 19-year-old Navontae Howard last February.

Herndon plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Herndon was originally charged with second-degree murder while armed.

According to police, Howard was found in the 3500 block of East Capitol St. SE suffering from gunshot wounds. He died from his injuries at the hospital. Howard died on Feb. 3, 2016. Police arrested and charged Herndon in June of last year and he has been held ever since.

Herdon will get credit for time served, and was sentenced to five years probation following his jail time.

Trial date set for Paul Swann, charged with murder

A trial date has been set for the murder case against Paul Swann.

Swann has been jailed since his arrest on March 18 of last year. Police say Swann shot Adam Edwin Barker, 29, on Feb. 29 2016. Barker died from his injuries the following day.

In December, a grand jury indicated Swann on three counts: unlawful possession of a firearm (due to a prior conviction), possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and first-degree murder.

A trial readiness hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 26.

Police charge man with murder of Waliyatou Amadou

Police have closed one of this year’s first murder cases.

Waliyatou Amadou, 23, was found in the hallway of a building suffering from multiple stab wounds. Amadou was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries.

Wednesday night, police announced the arrest of Deangelo Thorne. Thorne, 27, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed.

Search