A 26-year-old man was fatally shot early Sunday morning.
Police say Matthew Walker was found with apparent gunshot wounds in the 900 block of Eastern Ave., NE at around 1:30 a.m.
Walker was declared dead at the scene. Police have not released any suspect information.
Police have charged George Joyner, 50, with the murder of a man who has yet to be identified.
Joyner has been charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing another male to death in the area of 2nd and E Streets, NW.
Joyner was presented in D.C. Superior Court and is being held without bail. He is due to appear in court again on September 9 at 9:30 a.m.
A man was fatally stabbed near Children’s Medical Center Wednesday night, in what police are investigating as a domestic incident.
The D.C. Police Department tweeted Wednesday night that the man, later identified as Otis Byrd, had died and police were searching for the man’s suspect as the suspect.
UPDATE: Stabbing victim in 100 b/o Michigan Ave has been pronounced at hospital. Suspect is his adult son and has fled the scene.
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) August 10, 2016
As of Thursday at noon, the suspect still has not been arrested. Police responded to the 100 block of Michigan Ave., NW, near the hospital, and found Byrd suffering from stab wounds. He later died at the hospital.
This is the second domestic incident police were investigating Wednesday night. A man was charged with killing his father inside their home in Georgetown.
A 32-year-old man allegedly fatally stabbed his father inside a Georgetown residence Wednesday night.
Police have charged Peter Spencer with first-degree murder while armed for the death of his father, 71-year-old Harrison Spencer. Police responded to the residence in the 1600 block of 33rd Street, NW, at around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. They found Harrison Spencer’s lifeless body inside, marked with what appeared to be stab wounds.
New: police say #Georgetown man (seen here) under arrest for fatally stabbing his father on 33rd St @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/6ClMzJor64
— Jackie Bensen (@jackiebensen) August 11, 2016
Peter Spencer is expected to be presented in D.C. Superior Court Thursday.
The three men charged with the murder of Rico Myers last February were sentenced as part of a plea deal.
According to details of the plea deal, the three men robbed Myers after they were driven to meet him “for purposes of conducting a PCP transaction with the victim.”
Tavon Pinkney was sentenced to 17 years in jail for second-degree murder while armed for shooting Myers, while the other two men, William Bass and Kalif Brown, were sentenced for robbing him. Brown received a five-year sentence for robbery, and Bass received 5 1/2 years for assault with intent to rob while armed.
Pinkney shot Myers several times after Myers tried to defend himself while being robbed by Bass. Brown robbed a friend who was with Myers.
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Jeremiah Jordan has been charged with the death of 30-year-old Antoine McCullough.
McCullough died shortly after he was found with apparent gunshot wounds in the 3500 block of 18th St., SE, in July. Police on Thursday arrested Jordan, charging him with first-degree murder while armed.
Jordan was presented in D.C. Superior Court and is being held without bail. He is due back in court on Sept. 1.
Two men were shot, one fatally, Wednesday night.
Police are investigating after they found Derryk Johnson, 19, and another male suffering from gunshot wounds in the 600 block of N St., NW, a little after 10 p.m.
Both men were taken to the hospital, but Johnson died from his injuries.
Police have not yet made any arrests.
A 20-year-old man was fatally shot early Wednesday morning.
Police are investigating after they found Robert Lee Vinson shot in the 1600 block of V Street, SE, at around 2:45 a.m. Vinson was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries.
Police are still searching for suspects.
A man was fatally stabbed inside a residence early Tuesday morning in what police are calling a domestic incident.
Edy Dinora Portillo Martinez was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed for the alleged fatal stabbing of Pedro Sixto Esparragoza on Tuesday.
Esparragoza, 32, was taken to the hospital Tuesday where he died from injuries related to a stabbing, police said. Martinez, 28, was presented in D.C. Superior Court Wednesday and is being held without bail. She is next due in court on August 23.
Murder suspect Leon Stewart’s request to transfer to a different wing of D.C. jail due to the excessive heat was denied Thursday.
Stewart, 24, was charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly killing Darnell Lee Richardson, 29, in March.
Lee’s request was the fourth time last week a D.C. murder suspect has asked to be moved to a different cell due to excessive heat and rising temperatures.
Stewart’s attorney, Monica Douglas said the heat was causing “migraines and headaches.” Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz said the information in the medical records does not support the migraines, she also pointed out the temperature in Stewart’s cell has dropped several degrees from July’s average high of 83.63 degree.
“I know there’s speculation about physical and psychiatric health effects from the heat,” Leibovitz said, stressing that speculation should be treated as such.
Douglas rebutted Leibovitz’s argument, saying that Stewart, 24, is on medication and the heat has a very real effect on his health
“I don’t think it’s speculation. People on these meds are at higher risk of heat-related illness,” she said. Douglas also pointed out the temperature monitored by the jail’s thermometer system doesn’t account for the humidity. She continued to press for Stewart’s transfer to the Jail’s CTF wing.
Leibovitz said Stewart “happens to be in a unit where temperature has been reduced successfully” adding “there are many more prisoners with serious issues that warrant transfer. Moving to a cell that is one degree cooler won’t change anything.”
A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 2. Stewart has been held since his arrest on May 18.
Rashad Allen’s trial, set to start on September 6, will be a lengthy one.
Allen was seen in court on Thursday for a trial-readiness hearing. Judge Robert Morin asked if both parties will be prepared to begin trial on September 6 and both nodded. The prosecution warned Judge Morin that they will be looking at a lengthy trial, with approximately eighteen witness accounts alone on behalf of the government.
Of these eighteen witnesses, four are experts on DNA, firearms, and cell phone retrieval. Three witnesses, the prosecution said, will be rather lengthy civilian accounts. They estimate their evidence will take 3-4 days to present at trial, not including cross-examinations.
Allen will have another status hearing on September 2 before his trial begins.
Allen was arrested in April of 2015 for the second-degree murder of David Simmons. The shooting took place on March 15 in Southeast D.C. Officers responded to a report in the 2300 block of Hartford Street. Both Simmons and another man were found suffering from gunshot wounds and were rushed to a nearby hospital. Allen was found responsible for the double shooting.
Yet again on Thursday, murder suspect Donald Hairston requested a transfer out of D.C.’s jail due to medical problems worsened by the high temperatures inside his cell.
Hairston, 49, is charged with first-degree murder in the June shooting death of 40-year-old Stephanie Goodloe. Hairston’s attorney, Mani Golzari, argued his client needs to be moved out of D.C. jails cell block because Hairston is easily dehydrated due to medication he takes to treat hypertension, and suffers from nerve damage, making it difficult for him to walk and cool off.
Golzari said the Department of Corrections tested the temperature in Hairston’s cell earlier that week in the early afternoon and the cell was 82 degrees. Glozari said the jail is not releasing information related to the heat index of the jail and individual cells, information Glozari argued is necessary for his experts to fully assess Hairston’s health.
Over the last week cell blocks in D.C. jail have been tested to be in the upper 70’s low 80’s and the individual cells are five to six degrees warmer on average as reported by NBC 4.
Hairston’s attorney asked if he could be given more medical attention or moved to a different part of the jail if a transfer was denied. Golzari said Hairston is treated daily for hypertension and cholesterol, but a key part of his medical history has been ignored by the DOC.
Due to nerve damage in his lower back, Hairston has difficulty walking and sometimes his legs will go numb for an extended period of time. One of Hairston’s legs is also swelled, causing him to enter court walking with a cane and without one shoe.
The DOC has allowed inmates more time out of their cell’s to cool down, but Hairston has so much difficulty moving, sometimes he can’t get out of bed and not being able to take part in the cool down activities, his attorney told the court. Golzari said part of the problem is the medication Hairston takes for his nerve damage has either not been provided since his time in DOC or has been given inconsistently.
Judge Florence Pan said she had no record of Hairston’s nerve damage because it was not on the medical forms provided to her by the DOC. When Pan asked Glozari what he feels she should do, he requested she write to DOC and request action to be taken.
The prosecution argued Pan should not interfere in the workings of the DOC because it would not be appropriate. Pan agreed, but said she will act for Hairston because his case is more specific and she felt something needed to be done.
Hairston is due in court again on Sept. 2 for a felony status conference.
Anaiona Gaston’s boyfriend shot her once in the forehead while she held their two-month-old daughter in her lap, in what he described to police as an accident.
Gaston, 19, was found sitting cross legged on top of a bed, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head inside Fields’ apartment early Saturday morning.
Fields, charged with second-degree murder, told homicide detectives he had returned to the apartment from a club and safely unloaded his gun. Gatson was already inside the apartment with their daughter, as she had been let in by Fields’ grandparent earlier that night.
Fields told police he had Gaston “began to have a deep conversation about their relationship,” when Gatson began playing around, making “pop pop” noises and using her fingers to make shooting motions “in a joking matter.” According to the affidavit for his arrest, Fields told police he pointed his gun at Gatson and said “pop pop” and the gun went off. Fields told police he tried to wake up Gatson, who had been holding their daughter in her lap, but she did not respond. He then fled, tucking the gun in his waistband, which he was found with later when police found him by the apartment.
Police included an interview with Fields’ grandparent in the charging documents, who had let Gatson into their apartment at 2300 Good Hope Road, SE, and called police after she was shot. This witness told police that after they heard the shooting, they saw Gatson lying in the bed and Fields left the apartment. They gave police a description of Fields who was apprehended and later charged with second-degree murder while armed.
Fields was presented in D.C. Superior Court Saturday and is being held without bail. He is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing Aug. 15.
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After more than two weeks without a homicide, the city experienced three fatal shootings within hours early Saturday morning.
Anaiona Gaston, 19, was found fatally shot in the head inside an apartment in the 2300 block of Good Hope Road, SE. Gaston was found at around 3:51 a.m. Saturday morning. Police charged her boyfriend, 21-year-old Malik Fields, with second-degree murder. Fields was presented in D.C. Superior Court on Saturday and is being held without bail.
Just minutes before police discovered Gaston’s body, they responded to a report of gunshots in the 3500 block of 14th Street, NW. There they found 29-year-old Edward Roberts, Jr. suffering after he was shot multiple times. Roberts, found at around 3:30 a.m. was taken to the hospital where he died. Police have not arrested any suspects.
Police are also investigating a shooting on the I-295 overpass that left one man dead and another injured. At around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning police discovered two men inside a vehicle who had been shot. Both men were taken to the hospital, but on Sunday 25-year-old Judonne Stephens died from his injuries. Police have not arrested any suspects.
Tensions ran high Tuesday morning as the defense and prosecution argued over the handing over of evidence in the trial of 21-year-old Dujuan Garris.
Garris is charged with first-degree murder while armed in the January 2015 shooting death of James Anderson, 27.
Garris was originally set to go on trial on July 6, but the defense postponed, saying there was male DNA found on bullet casings found at the crime scene that did not match Garris or Anderson. The defense requested time to send the data off to their experts for analysis.
The trial was then set to being in January, 2017, but on Tuesday it was pushed back to March.
The prosecution said they believe the unknown male DNA belonged to crime scene detectives and firearm specialists who handled the evidence without gloves. They said they would need time after the defense got their results back to conduct DNA testing on all of the people who could have come in contact with the evidence with the hopes of proving that there is not a second, unknown suspect.
This evidence analysis, along with the analysis of blood found on a different piece of evidence, was supposed to be shared with the prosecution by the defense before Tuesday’s status hearing. It was not.
At this time, the defense said that they were unsure if they would even use the evidence they are collecting from the analysis.
The prosecution said that the defense has had over a month since they originally said that their analysis would be available, and argued there is no reason for the delay unless the defense was attempting to waste time. The prosecution also noted that the delay gave time for the protective order preventing Garris from learning about possible testifying witnesses was allowed to expire.
After several minuets of back and forth the defense approached the bench to explain the situation to Judge Milton Lee.
Lee addressed the prosecution and said, “Maybe this is not as clear cut as you thought it was.” Lee said that he was satisfied with the reasoning the defense gave at the bench for the delay and he would take action if the defense did not comply after the analysis was finished.
“I know more than you do,” Lee told the prosecution.
The trial date was scheduled for March 6, 2016. A status hearing will be held on Sept. 16 at 10 a.m.
