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Report: Accidental shooting led teen to burn friend’s body in trash

The teenager accused in the shooting death of his friend told police it was an accident, according to a report from WUSA9, citing court documents.

According to the documents, Zaccheus Blanding, 19, says he accidentally shot his friend Heineken McNeil, while Blanding was playing with the gun and thought the safety was on.

Firefighters found the body of McNeil burning in a trash can on June 23.

According to the documents cited by WUSA9, Blanding, charged with second-degree murder, told police he panicked after he realized his friend wouldn’t “bounce back” and then proceeded to buy duct tape with McNeil still in his room, and then stuff his friend into a trash can which he later set on fire.

 

Police ask public to help identify people seen in video of fatal shooting

Police have released a video of two people of interest believed to be responsible for a fatal drive-by shooting. The victim has been identified as 33-year-old Darrell Michael Grays of Northeast.

The video shows a light colored vehicle turning the corner into a residential area with carrying what appear to be two people. The passenger can be seen pointing a gun out of the window, shooting onto the sidewalk. The full video can be seen below.

According to investigators, the homicide occurred at approximately 5:07 p.m. on the 1600 block of E Street on June 28. Police are asking for help in locating the people seen on the video.

 

Man fatally shot Sunday night identified as Timothy Bing

A man fatally shot Sunday night was identified by police as 36-year-old Timothy Bing of Northeast.

According to police, Bing was found unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds at around 10:20 p.m. Sunday, on the 900 block of 3rd Street, NE.

 

Kevin Sutherland murder suspect denied bail

The man charged with the violent murder of 24-year-old Kevin Sutherland was denied bond in his first court appearance Tuesday.

According to the Washington Post, Jasper Spires, charged with first-degree murder while armed, will be held in prison as his case continues.

Spires’ attorney Antoini Jones had asked for Spires to be released while awaiting trail. According to WJLA, people were shocked in the court room and gasped when the attorney asked for Spires to be released.

Spires was released while awaiting trial for another crime when he allegedly killed Sutherland.

Another preliminary hearing will take place on July 17 at 9:30 am.

 

 

Police investigating death of 24-year-old Southeast man

Police are investigating the shooting death of a 24-year-old man whose body was found in Northeast D.C.

According to a police press release, William Clemments Herndon from Southeast was found unconscious and unresponsive, suffering from gunshot wounds, around 12:35 a.m. by police responding to calls of a shooting on 45th Street and Ponds Street, NE. Herndon was pronounced dead and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy. His death is being investigated as a homicide.

Teen charged with murder of Heineken McNeil

A suspect has been arrested and charged in the death of a man found burning in a trash can last month.

Zacchaeus Blanding, 19, from Northeast, was arrested Wednesday for the murder of Heineken McNeil, also 19.

McNeil’s body was found burned beyond recognition in a trashcan on the early morning of June 23 behind a vacant home in the 1200 block of Holbrook Terrace NE. An autopsy revealed the victim’s identity and that the victim died as a result of being shot, before he was set ablaze in the trash can.

Blanding has been charged with second degree murder while armed in McNeil’s death.

According to NBC Washington, the arrest of Blanding has led to startling revelations that the suspect and victims were not rivals, as was originally thought by investigators.

“…with this arrest today, we have now learned that this, in fact, was not a rivalry or a feud between rival neighborhoods in Northeast, but in fact, the suspect and the victim were friends,” Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said at a press conference Wednesday, according to NBC.

 

Kevin Sutherland eulogized on House floor

Connecticut native Kevin Sutherland was eulogized by his former boss on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday morning, who called for the 24-year-old’s spirit to live on in the chamber.

“Four days ago, on July 4 a young man was murdered just a mile from here in broad daylight on a crowded subway. That young man was Kevin Joseph Sutherland–24 years old. He was my campaign volunteer, my intern and my friend,” said Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut. “Maybe that’s unremarkable, violence seems to be a part of who we are and all too present with us. But I want to tell this House that Kevin was in Washington because he believed the best of us, each one of us. He believed that we could come together, he believed that we could set aside our petty prejudices. He believed that we could bring our voices together in this chamber and make a better world.”

Sutherland, a self-described news junkie and politics watcher was killed in a brutal stabbing on a red-line train on July 4 while heading to meet friends.

He had come to D.C. for school, where he attended American University and stayed in the city he came to love and worked for the political strategy firm New Blue Interactive. Sutherland was involved in politics in school organizations, internships and campaigns. He worked for Himes’ twice, according to Sutherland’s LinkedIn profile.

“I think there is a chance that 20 years from now Kevin might have served in this chamber,” Himes said. “Now, that’s not going to happen. But Kevin’s spirit of openness, of optimism, of possibility, that spirit must live on in this chamber and in our hearts.”

Himes also posted a note remembering his friend and intern on Twitter the day following Sutherland’s death.

“Am absolutely heartbroken by the tragic loss of intern, staffer & wonderful friend, Kevin Sutherland. I’ve known few as selfless & decent,” Himes tweeted.

Jasper Spires has been charged in Sutherland’s death.

Warrant details murder, robbery aboard red-line train

After he allegedly fatally punched, stabbed and stomped on Kevin Sutherland, Jasper Spires robbed two people also on-board a red-line train, and accidentally dropped a backpack carrying identifying information, according to the warrant for his arrest.

Police charged Jasper Spires with first-degree murder while armed for the death of Sutherland on July 4, and witness accounts of the events including in the warrant paint a grisly picture of Sutherland’s death at the hands of Spires.

Spires, fresh out of jail after a prior arrest, and Sutherland, on his way to meet friends to celebrate the holiday, were both aboard the red-line train in car 3045 when Spires walked toward Sutherland and tried to steal an item from his waist area, according to witnesses. Sutherland tried to fight the robbery, but was punched repeatedly by Spires until he fell to the ground. While on the ground, Sutherland cried out for help and threw his cell phone at Spires in defense.

According to witnesses, Spires then took out his black folding knife and stabbed Sutherland in the chest, abdomen, upper right back, left side, right side and both arms. Spires then walked around the subway car before he stomped on Sutherland. After the attack, Spires stole money from two others on the subway. He walked up to one victim and asked, “What do ya’ll got?” and proceeded to sift through the victim’s pockets. Spires stole the man’s subway card and his wallet.

According to a different witness, when Spires stepped off the subway car at the NOMA-Gallaudet Metro Station, Spires jumped the turnstile to leave the station where he dropped a black book bag. In the book bag, retrieved by a Metro employee, were camouflage pants, beige cloth with blood and an AmeriHealth health insurance card with the name “Jasper Spires.”

Two days prior to the attack on the subway, Spires was arrested for robbery with force and violence and an assault on a police officer. He was released on July 4, and received his personal items back. These items included a black book bag, clothing and glasses. The police were able to look at footage of Spires recovering his items on the day he was released and match it to the book-bag left at the metro station. An officer who had twice encountered Spires before, was also able to identify Spires after shown footage from the metro stop. The officer also said when he had met Spires before, he would “act as if he were under the influence and would talk to himself.”

Later, police found a black folding knife in a trash can at the subway station.

According to the arrest affidavit, Spires is being charged with first-degree murder while armed.

Warrant for Jasper Spires

Autopsy: Kevin Sutherland stabbed multiple times in heart and chest

The man killed on a red-line train on July 4 was stabbed 20 times, including multiple deep stabs to his heart and chest, court documents show.

Charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court charging Jasper Spires with the first-degree murder of Kevin Sutherland, 24, depict the apparent brutal and violent assault that led to Sutherland’s death.

An autopsy performed by Dr. Nikki Mourtzinos the day after Sutherland’s death, included in the charging documents,  observed 30-40 stab and cutting wounds on Sutherland, injuries from blunt-force trauma to his head, face, forehead, nose, ear and defensive wounds to his arms and hands.

“Some of the most significant stab wounds included a 3-inch-deep stab wound to the chest, which struck the decedent’s heart; a 3.5-inch-deep stab wound to the chest that penetrated the decedent’s pericardial sac; and a stab wound to the right side of the decedent’s chest, which penetrated 5.5 inches into his body, striking and fracturing one of his ribs and puncturing his lung,” the documents read.

According to the documents, Spires was arrested for murder on July 6 a little before 9 a.m. in the 4800 block of Georgia Avenue, NW. Spires was dressed but not wearing shoes when arrested.

Charging documents for Jasper Spires

Police investigating death of John Jones

A 24-year-old man died early Sunday morning from apparent gunshot wounds, according to police.

John Jones of Southeast was found suffering from gunshot wounds around 5:30 a.m. Sunday by police in the 2300 block of Green Street, SE. When fire and emergency personnel responded to the scene, they were unable to find any signs of life and Jones was taken to the Chief Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy.

 

 

Assault victim succumbs to injuries Monday

A 52-year-old man died from his injuries Monday, sustained from an assault over the holiday weekend.

Police, responding to a call for an assault in progress, found Thomas Harris with head trauma a little before 5 p.m. on July 5.

Harris, of Alexandria, VA, unconscious, but breathing when was taken to the hospital, but died from his injuries the next day. His death was ruled a homicide.

Police found Harris on the unit block of New York Avenue, NW, about a half mile from the NoMA-Gallaudet metro station, where a man was killed aboard a red-line train the day before.

 

Man arrested in Independence Day stabbing of AU grad on metro

The man charged with the fatal stabbing of a 24-year-old aboard a metro train on Independence Day was arrested by police today.  Jasper Spires, 18, of Northwest, was charged with the murder of Kevin Joseph Sutherland, also of Northwest. Sutherland, who was on his way to meet friends for holiday celebrations, died after he was fatally stabbed aboard a red-line train as it approached the NoMa-Gallaudet station.

According to reports, police say the stabbing occurred during an attempted robbery.

Spires was arrested Monday morning in the 4800 block of Georgia Avenue NW, after he was spotted by patrol officers. According to MPD reports, Spires was charged with first degree murder while armed, the day after being released from custody on unrelated robbery charges.

Officers, notified by the transit officers of a stabbing, responded to the NoMa-Gallaudet station at around 12:50 p.m. Saturday. According to an MPD press release, officers located Sutherland suffering from apparent stab wounds, who showed no signs of life. He was then transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

According to the Washington Post, Police were on high alert during the holiday, distributing fliers to every patrol officer and broadcasting dispatches with the suspect’s description every two hours according to Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier. Police issued a warrant the following day, but did not disclose how Spires was identified as the suspect.

Spires was in police custody on Friday after being arrested on Thursday for an unrelated charge of robbery using force and violence in Northwest Washington, reports WUSA 9. Spires was originally charged with a felony for the altercation, but was released Friday—the day before Sutherland’s stabbing—when, according to Superior Court documents, the charges were revised to a misdemeanor. The charges were changed to assault and assault on a police officer.  He was released awaiting trial after his arrangement, and was out of custody for one day before stabbing Sutherland.

According to NBC Washington, Sutherland, originally from Connecticut, was an American University alumnus and two-time student government secretary. Sutherland also served as an intern for Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) in 2008 and 2010. Until the time of his death, he was working as a digital political strategist with the firm New Blue Interactive.

One dead, three others injured in July 4 shooting

Police say one man has died after he and three others were shot on the night of July 4.

Police responded to the 2600 block of Douglas Place a little after 11 p.m. and transported all four victims suffering from gunshot wounds to the hospital. According to police one of the males, later identified as 23-year-old Dwayne Gene Dillard of Southeast, succumbed to his injuries.