Judge rules probable cause to hold 18-year-old Kenneth Adams

A judge on Thursday ruled enough probable cause exists to hold 18-year-old Kenneth Adams for murder.

During Adams’ first appearance Thursday, his attorney, Madalyn Harvey, argued against his holding. “There are several problems with the government’s allegations here. My client has become a target,” she said.

Adams is being charged with first degree murder while armed for the death of Dante Kinard, 21, in February.

Harvey argued that in the arrest warrant it was clear the witnesses were talking between one another, showing hostilities and bias, and had a suspect target in mind.

After deliberation, the judge ruled there was probable cause to hold Adams and that because of two particular witnesses’ testimonies, the shooting looked predetermined and deliberate.

“I find no conditions or set of conditions that would ensure the safety of the community,” Judge Raymond said.

Adams is being held without bail and is due back in court on July 15 at 9:30 a.m..

Two men plead guilty fatally shooting Kevin Owens

Two men pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed in the Jan. 19, 2015 death of Kevin Owens.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Markell Alston, 23 and Darryl Malloy, 21, both of Washington, D.C. shot and killed Owens on Martin Luther King Jr. Day around 2 p.m.

Alston was reportedly angry that Owens began dating the mother of two of Alston’s children. Alston and Malloy were close friends and the two-approached Owens parked car from behind in the 3400 block of 13th place SE. Both men were armed and fired multiple shots at Owens, who was sitting in the drivers seat of his car, before fleeing the area.

According to details released from the USAO, Owens was struck seven times and was found on the street next to the driver’s side of his car. The shooting was caught on a high-definition surveillance video camera installed by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Alston and Malloy both pled guilty to other counts of assault with dangerous weapons. Alston pled guilty to assaulting another inmate in the D.C. jail, where he and another inmate stabbed the victim with a sharp object. The victim suffered 23 stab wounds.

Malloy also pled guilty to threatening a contractor who was installing safety lights on the roof of buildings in the Woodland Terrace. Malloy pulled a gun from his waistband and said he did not want the lights installed.

Alston and Malloy will be in court on Sept 23 for sentencing in Owens’ murder.

Kenneth Adams charged with February murder

Police have charged Kenneth Adams with the murder of Dante Kinard, 21, in February.

Adams was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly fatally shooting Kinard.

Kinard was found by police after he was shot in the 1800 block of Benning Road, NE.

Court documents show Adams was already being held without bail for what appears to be an unrelated armed robbery charge. The case however was dismissed at the request of the government on Tuesday. Adams was arrested Wednesday, but according to an official familiar with both cases, Adams was never released and was immediately re-arrested after the other charge was dropped. The U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment on why the robbery case was dismissed.

Adams is due to be presented in D.C. Superior Court Thursday afternoon.

Judge grants Wilbert Whitaker extended release conditions to attend funeral

A judge will allow murder suspect Wilbert Whitaker, 67, released under certain conditions so he can attend his aunt’s funeral in North Carolina this weekend.

Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin granted Whitaker’s release Wednesday morning. Whitaker is charged with the alleged murder of Leo Hackett, who died of gunshot wounds in April 2016. Whitaker, who has been out of jail and under high-intensity supervision as his case moves forward, now has an extended curfew, which will allow him to travel to North Carolina this weekend.

Prosecutor Katie Earnest objected to the release conditions, saying not only has the defendant already received “generous” conditions on behalf of the government, but also that the defense did not provide proof that the family member, Whitaker’s aunt, has died. The defense did not provide evidence to the contrary. The defense stated, however, that it would not be possible for the defendant to flee in the given situation to begin with because of his GPS tag, but they would provide the court with the address he intends to stay at.

On April 30, police responded to the sounds of gunshots in the 800 block of 21 Street, NE and found Hackett, then 30, with multiple gunshot wounds at 10:45 a.m. Hackett was taken to a hospital where he died. Police arrested Whitaker at the scene and charged him with second-degree murder while armed. DC Police are investigating the crime as a domestic incident, but have not disclosed the relationship between the two men.

Whitaker has a felony status conference on July 15 at 10 a.m.

Man killed in Columbia Heights Tuesday morning

Police say a 20-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday morning in Columbia Heights.

Police responded to a call for a shooting at around 6:30 a.m. in the 2900 block of 14th Street, NW. They found Devonte Crawford suffering from a gunshot wound. Crawford died at the scene, and police are investigating the case as a homicide.

23-year-old Antonio Leach killed Sunday

Police say Antonio Leach was killed in a shooting a little after midnight Sunday night.

Leach, 23, was found with gunshot wounds in the 4400 block of F St., SE. He was taken to the hospital where he died. Police found Leach after responding to the sounds of gunshots in the neighborhood.

Police are investigating this fatal shooting, but no arrests have been made.

Prosecutor agrees to release extended surveillance footage to Kenneth Stewart’s defense

The attorneys representing Kenneth Stewart have requested a day’s worth of footage from the August 8th, 2015 death of Eric Jackson. The alleged murder took place at a little before 11 p.m. in the 1200 Block Maple View Place, SE D.C.

Stewart has been charged with second-degree murder while armed. Security surveillance video footage released from a private residence next to where the shooting took confirmed that Stewart was present and shooting at the scene of the crime.

Stewart and his representation met in court for a status hearing on June 8, during which the defendant requested a day’s worth of surveillance footage from the day of the incident. The prosecution claimed that they had shared the footage with the defense on two separate occasions.

The defense plans to analyze the footage to investigate the block party that the deceased attended the afternoon of the shooting, prior to the incident.

According to charging documents, Jackson was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to an area hospital where he later died. Multiple witnesses saw Stewart shot in the direction of where Jackson was found at the time of the incident. Some accounts state that two people were shooting. Stewart was seen exiting the scene in a white Dodge Charger.

Stewart will return back to court on August 26 at 9:30 a.m.

Rashawn Wright fatally shot Thursday night

Police are investigating the shooting death of Rashwan Wright.

According to police, Wright was found with gunshot wounds in the 900 block of Varney Place, SE, Thursday night.

Police have not identified any suspects and are asking for the public’s help in solving this murder.

Report: Jerome Drayton will not be charged in the shaking death of his 3-year-old son

No further criminal charges will be placed against Jerome Ortiz Drayton, 23, in relation to the death of his son, Javion Drayton, the Washington Post reported.

It is believed that the child died due to injuries suffered when he was 4 months old and was vigorously shaken by Drayton. According to the Washington Post, the father pleaded guilty in 2012 to committing cruelty to children after Javion was found not breathing at a residence in the 1500 block of Tubman Rd, SE.

In 2012 prosecutors agreed to a plea deal to forgo additional charges against Drayton if Javion died of his injuries. Drayton was only charged with cruelty to children and was given a one-year suspended jail sentence along with three years probation, which he has completed.

According to the post’s article, this decision was made after prosecutors took into account Drayton’s age, 20 at the time of the incident, his willingness to “accept responsibility” and a statement from Javion’s mother asking for Drayton to receive a second chance.

According to chief spokesman for D.C. police, Dustin Sternbeck, homicide detectives applied for an arrest warrant after Javion’s death but prosecutors declined it.

The Washington Post contacted doctors at Children’s National Medical Center who stated that Javion had experienced internal bleeding in his brain and concluded that he “had suffered a vigorous and repetitive episode of being shaken.” Javion’s death has been ruled a homicide.

18-year-old murdered Sunday night

Metropolitan police are investigating the shooting death of 18-year-old Tyrique White of Southeast, D.C.

Police responded to a shooting at the 5200 Block of Call Place, SE a little after 8:45 p.m. on June 5 where an injured White was found. White was found shot multiple times and later died at a local hospital Sunday night.

At this time, investigators have not released any additional information.

Three men charged in the shooting death of AU alum plead not guilty

The three men charged in the August 15 shooting death of Matthew Shlonsky pleaded not guilty, The Washington Post reported.

Shlonsky, 23, a financial analyst and 2014 American University graduate, was caught in cross fire as he was exiting a car in the Shaw neighborhood.

The three men charged with his murder, Marcus King, 20, Andre Dudley, 20, and Christopher Proctor, 26, all of Northwest, were charged with over 60 counts for Shlonsky’s death.

They have been charged with second-degree murder while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon and charges involving injuries to two other adults and three children. Shlonsky’s killing was apart of a larger crime spree, including the theft of a vehicle that was used in the shooting.

King, Dudley, and Proctor’s next court date will be on July 15 at 10 a.m.

Jarell Walker pronounced dead after shooting Thursday night

Police are investigating the shooting death of 22-year-old Jarell Walker of Suitland, Md. Police are still trying to identify the person or persons responsible for Walker’s death.

The Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call of a shooting at the 3700 Block of Hayes St., NW a little before midnight on June 2. Walker was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and later died at the hospital.

Death of Javion Drayton, 3, ruled a homicide

The death of a three-year-old boy, who was violently shaken as an infant, has been ruled a homicide by the medical examiner.

According to police, Javion Drayton, 3, was shaken and assaulted in July 2012. According to the boy’s obituary, published after his death this January, Javion was just four months old at the time of the assault. A press release from police on Wednesday night, announcing that the death is being investigated as a homicide, reported an adult male was arrested and charged with assault at the time of the initial incident but police did not release the man’s name.

Javion was admitted to the hospital after the initial incident, and again on January 21 of this year when he died. On May 11, the cause of death was determined by the medical examiner as complications “of remote non-accidental blunt head and torso trauma,” due to the original shaking event in 2012.

It was not immediately clear if the man initially charged in 2012 will be charged with murder.

Maryland man found dead after shooting Sunday night

Police are investigating after a 32-year-old man died from apparent gunshot wounds in the 1300 block of 7th Street, NW, on Sunday night.

Russell Crawford, of Suitland, Md. was taken to an area hospital where he died from his injuries after he was discovered suffering from gunshot wounds by third district police.

Police have not made any arrests in the case.

40-year-old Tyrone Bradley dies from gunshot wounds

Tyrone Bradley, 40, was found dead from apparent gunshot wounds at around 2:14 am Monday morning. Bradley was discovered by the Fifth district police on the 700 block of 24th Street, NE.

Police have not yet arrested any suspects.

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