The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is now searching for a vehicle that is believed to be involved in a homicide on the 1700 block of Euclid Street NW.
According to a press release, officers located 18-year-old Derron McQueen suffering from gunshot wounds after he had been struck by a vehicle. McQueen dies on the scene.
The vehicle is a a white Chevrolet Volt, with silver rims that is possibly missing a window on the driver’s side.
Nine days after counsel in a murder trial delivered closing arguments, a jury unanimously found two co-defendants guilty of a shooting that left one 17-year-old dead and three bystanders wounded. .
Robert Moses, 24 and James Mayfield, 23, were convicted of first-deree premeditated murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with intent to kill with an aggrevating cirmcumstace of the victim being vulnerable because of mental or physical infirmity, and aggrivated assault while armed on Dec. 8.
Moses is also convicted of obstruction of justice.
According to the jury’s verdict form, the murder was not found to be the result of a drive-by shooting.
On Aug. 10, 2017, at around 3:30 p.m. Moses and Mayfield approached the intersection of Montana and Saratoga Avenues NE while armed with .40 and .45 caliber handguns. Collectively, the defendants fired over ten rounds at people standing on Saratoga Avenue. One of these bullets struck 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor in the head as she was driving, killing her. Three other bystanders were struck by the bullets.
Moses was arrested on Oct. 16, 2017. He is charged with 13 counts, including first-degree murder while armed, assault with the intent to kill while armed, and aggravated assault while armed on Oct. 26, 2017.
Mayfield was arrested on Dec. 27, 2017. He is charged with 25 counts, including first-degree murder, assault with the intent to kill while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, threat to kidnap or injure a person, robbery while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of an unregistered firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, and attempt to commit robbery while armed.
Phillip McDaniel, 26, an accomplice who was arrested and charged in 2017 for his involvement in Sydnor’s murder, signed a plea deal to lessen his sentence to second-degree murder. This deal included his agreement to testify against Moses and Mayfield.
The defendants are set for sentencing on June 9, 2023.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested a man believed to be involved in a homicide that took place on the 2300 Block of Minnesota Avenue, SE on AuJermonegust 23.
Jerome Israel, 18, was apprehended on Dec. 19 and charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 24-year-old Chaquan Barbett, according to a press release.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) are investigating a homicide that took place on Dec. 17 on the 2400 block of 18th Street, NW.
According to a press release, officers responded to a report of gunshots and found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
Avon Perkins, a 30-year-old man from Baltimore, Md., dies on the scene.
The second victim, identified as an adult female by police, was treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
MPD is offering up to a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police at 202-727-9099 or text 50411 to send information anonymously.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is investigating a homicide that took place on the 1700 Block of Euclid Street, NW on Dec. 17.
According to a press release, officers found 18-year-old Derron McQueen, a resident of Temple Hills, Md. suffering from gunshot wounds. He died on the scene.
Police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information, which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s Text Tip Line by sending a text message to 50411.
DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan sentenced a homicide defendant to 10 years in prison on Dec. 16.
Deandre Houston was charged with first-degree murder while armed, armed robbery and two gun charges in the shooting of 27-year-old Roderick Thomas on the 3200 block of 12th Street SE, on Oct. 11, 2018. On April 1, the 21-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed after making a deal with prosecutors.
Judge Raffinan sentenced Houston to 10 years in prison with 5 years supervised release. He will be required to register as a gun offender when released.
According to the proffer of facts, on Oct. 2, 2018, Houston created an account on OfferUp, an online marketplace for individuals to buy and sell items, under the username “John.” He posted an ad to sell a laptop for $225. Thomas responded to the ad and the two agreed on a meeting place in the Congress Heights neighborhood.
The laptop did not exist.
According to the prosecution, Houston and an unknown co-conspirator planned to rob Thomas once they met. When Thomas arrived, the two robbed him of the $225 and then demanded his car. Thomas fought back, and Houston’s co-conspirator shot him.
On Friday, the prosecution requested Houston be sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Houston obtained his high school diploma while incarcerated at the DC Jail. He also participated in a number of programs offered at the Jail and acquired numerous certifications, according to defense attorney Sellano Simmons.
“I know he has a great heart. I know Deandre is not lost,” Houston’s godfather said at the sentencing.
Simmons addressed the victim’s family in a letter written by Houston.
“There is no excuse for everything that has happened,” Houston wrote in the letter. “I know you won’t be able to forgive me but I hope one day you will. To my kids and Thomas’s kids, I am sorry you have to live your life without your father. That is what I struggled the most with.”
The defense requested Houston be sentenced to 10 years.
This case was acquitted on Dec. 16, 2022.
On Dec. 16, a jury found that a murder defendant was not guilty after defense attorney, David Knight suggested that the real murderer was actually a woman.
Reginald Hooks, 37, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 22-year-old Dy’Mani Priestley on Jan. 5, 2020, on the 1200 block of U Street, NW.
The defense informed the court, during his closing statements on Dec. 15, that on the night in question, only one person, and it wasn’t Hooks, made a stabbing motion toward Priestly.
Knight said he believes the smacking gesture that Priestly’s friend made towards one of the women outside of the Amsterdam Lounge was what led to the stabbing.
According to the prosecution, it was a lighthearted smack, and everyone appeared to be laughing.
But Knight argued the opposite.
According to the defense attorney, in the video from that night the woman seemed to have “stepped up” and was offended by the slap.
He displayed a portion of the surveillance footage from the night of the murder, which he asserts was the time the actual stabbing took place.
“She steps up and makes a pretty classic stabbing motion,” Knight said.
DNA from the victim was discovered in two different places, including the area where the stabbing motion was made and in another separate area where the victim bled out.
“Why was there blood there if Hooks allegedly stabbed him? That’s not where Hooks allegedly stabbed him,” he said. “But the blood makes sense being there if [the woman] stabbed him.”
Knight made it clear that the only way the blood could have gotten there was if a knife had been removed from the victim’s chest and sprayed.
Knight said, following the incident, the woman was behaving in a suspicious manner and shouting at those who were assisting the police.
“We don’t do that snitchin’ shit over here,” the woman yelled. “Why you snitchin’?”
“You ran up on females and your man got stretched,” she is heard saying.
Hooks, on the other hand, was one of those who remained at the scene, spoke with police, and was being cooperative, Knight told the jury.
A witness who was at the incident said Hooks left the scene and returned without his coat, but that was untrue given that Hooks was seen in his coat on all of the security footage taken after the stabbing, Knight said.
He instead highlighted how attentive and guarded the two women were.
Knight displayed footage showing the women getting into one of their relatives’ trucks and then making their way towards an alley. The friend can be seen returning to the site without her coat.
“They ran up. They got what they needed to get,” body cam footage shows the other woman said. “He started this motherfucker, I’ma catch his ass.”
After the parties completed their closing arguments, DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan gave the jury their instructions before sending them to begin deliberations.
This case was acquitted on Dec. 16, 2022.
During closing arguments on Dec. 15, a prosecutor played surveillance footage from the night of the murder and went into great detail about everything that occurred in the video as well as the circumstances he believed led to the murder.
Reginald Hooks, 37, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 22-year-old Dy’Mani Priestley on Jan. 5, 2020, on the 1200 block of U Street, NW.
“The defendant snatched the victim Dy’Mani Priestley’s life away,” the prosecutor said. “None of this needed to happen. It was a fight that should’ve remained a fight.”
According to the prosecutor, Priestley was seen playfully hanging with friends in front of the Amsterdam Lounge.
During this time, one of Priestley’s friends, who was a witness in the case, said something to one of the women that was seen hanging with Hooks. The women seemed to respond playfully to what the friend said. The women and the witness were seen laughing.
The witness was also seen making a smacking gesture across one of the women’s faces in a playful manner.
As soon as that occurred, Hooks hit the witness and everyone began to get into a physical fist fight.
Hooks is then seen walking towards one of the women and standing there for a couple of minutes. The fight seemed to have ended, the prosecutor said.
He continued by telling the jury that Priestley then rolled a joint and hung with friends.
The witness who was involved in the psychical altercation with Hooks, approached Priestley, and shook his hand and began talking with him.
A few minutes later, Hooks is seen walking up to the witness and, according to other witnesses, Priestley’s friend said “round two” as Hooks approached them.
Priestley was in between Hooks and the witness. As Hooks took two steps towards them, both men took steps back.
Hooks is then seen striking Priestley in the chest, the prosecutor said.
According to the prosecutor, the defendant was the only person that night that struck Priestley in the chest and the only person that could have caused the stab wound to the victim’s chest.
During the rest of the prosecutor’s closing arguments, he went over several accounts from witnesses about what Hooks told them following the murder.
The prosecutor showed the jury the interview of one of Hook’s friends.
The friend told the detective that he saw Hooks playing with a 3-4 inch knife at the club the night of the murder.
He also said that after the murder, Hooks admitted to him that he did it. “They tried to jump me so I poked him,” the witness said Hooks told him.
The prosecutor also told the court that one of the women, who was close friends with Hooks, told detectives that Hooks said, “fuck that, he was in your face. He did what he did and I did what I did.”
According to the woman, Hooks also said, “You know y’all my sisters. You know I’d do time for y’all. He hit you, so he got what he got.”
The prosecutor emphasized that the motive behind the murder was that Hooks’ ego was bruised since he was the first to throw the punch, but the last to get up.
“He got embarrassed by his love interest and his fellow bouncers,” he said.
On Dec. 15, parties returned to the courtroom to address a jury note that had been submitted by the jury.
Jermaine Harris, 21, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to the death of 38-year-old Lamar Walters on the 2400 block of Franklin Street, NE, on Jan. 6, 2020.
The note read, “If we cannot come to an unanimous decision on first-degree murder, can we consider the other charges?”
Defense attorney, Jonathan S. Zucker stipulated, in the jury instructions, that the first-degree murder charge must be dismissed before the jury can consider second-degree murder.
In spite of the jury’s apparent inability to decide on the first-degree murder accusation, the prosecution emphasized that the jury could still take into account the two counts of armed assault with the intent to kill as well as the possession of a firearm during a violent crime.
The jury is scheduled to continue deliberations on Dec. 19.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives made an arrest in connection to a homicide that occurred on Dec. 14, on the 2700 block of Good Hope Road, SE.
According to a press release, at about 2:45 pm, officers reported to a scene of a traffic accident and a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located 33-year-old Brooklyn Michael Lynn suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The investigation revealed a collision happened between two vehicles. The victim who wasn’t apart of the collision was seen interacting with the suspect. During the conversation, the victim was shot by the suspect.
The suspect, 44-year-old Anthony Williams was apprehended at the scene and charged with second-degree murder while armed.
On Dec. 14, a jury delivered their verdict for three defendants in connection to several shootings that occurred in 2017.
The jury found Derek Turner guilty after an eight-week trial and weeks of deliberation of shooting shooting of 28-year-old Andrew McPhatter on March 5, 2017, on the 3500 block of Wheeler Road, SE and 23-year-old Devin Hall on Jan. 7, 2017, on the 3500 block of 6th Street, SE.
Turner, 31, was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder while armed, unlawful possession of a firearm with a criminal record, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy, assault with intent to kill while armed, accessory after the fact, and obstruction of justice.
The jury also found Ronnika Jennings, 44, guilty of accessory after the fact and obstruction of justice.
The third defendant, 33-year-old Duan Hill, was found guilty for conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He was released from jail on GPS monitoring.
The defendants are set for sentencing on March 10.
2023 will mark the 8th year that D.C. Witness has brought unprecedented reporting and data transparency to DC’s criminal justice system.
Along the way, we have pioneered a new kind of crime reporting, jettisoning traditional “if it bleeds it leads” reporting for equal coverage of every stage of every step in homicide cases. We recently added sexual assault, domestic violence and non-fatal shooting cases.
2023 will see yet more innovations from us. A first of its kind automated, push notification system that will allow those traumatized by violent crime to follow their cases and a newsletter/dashboard that will allow us to bring real-time data to the neighborhood level. These will have a direct impact on individuals otherwise not served in the city.
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This case was acquitted on Dec. 16, 2022.
A medical examiner verifies the victims cause of death, and the lead deceive testifies about the evidence collected in a murder during trial on Dec. 14.
Reginald Hooks, 37, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 22-year-old Dy’Mani Priestley on Jan. 5, 2020, on the 1200 block of U Street, NW.
The prosecution alleges that the stabbing occurred after Hooks and Priestly were involved in an altercation between two groups of people.
As part of the prosecution’s argument, an expert from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said she could clearly identify a stab wound to the chest and other signs of blunt force trauma, including inside the victim’s mouth and on his torso, when examining the body.
She also said the knife went through the interior of the heart, identifying the stab wound as Priestley’s cause of death.
Quiana Harris, Hooks’ defense attorney, questioned if the victim would have experienced significant pain following the stabbing despite having THC, alcohol, and adrenaline surging through his body.
A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective, who led the investigation, said Hooks was one of many witnesses who were questioned. According to the detective, Hooks stayed behind and spoke with the police, telling them her was on U Street when the stabbing occurred but did not hit or punch the victim.
The detective said Hooks’s statements to the responding officer were accurate and corroborated what he had previously told them.
The detective said he spoke with two other men who were in the brawl throughout the course of the investigation. According to video evidence both men appeared to strike the victim.
Within 24 hours after the incident, police were able to speak with one of the me. He denied taking part in the brawl that night on U Street.
When asked if he had struck the victim, the second man similarly denied having done so.
Closing arguments are set to start on Dec. 15.
DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan will give the jury instructions before they begin deliberating on Dec. 16.
Counsel delivered closing arguments on Dec. 13 after a 6-day murder trial.
Jermaine Harris, 21, is charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to the death of 38-year-old Lamar Walters on the 2400 block of Franklin Street, NE, on Jan. 6, 2020.
The prosecutor said that Walters attempted to drag himself to the curb but failed after being shot four times in 30 seconds. The same individuals who shot at Walters later came close to running him over with their vehicle, the prosecutor continued.
After learning that “his own child had been shot,” his father went to the scene. Lamar, according to the prosecutor, was the man’s “heart and soul.”
The prosecutor told the jury that even though the video footage was silent, you can still make out a white Toyota Camry turning onto the street from the alley seconds before the men ducked down. The three men who were talking in front of a bodega then ducked down and began running towards Franklin Street a short while later, which is when the shooting is believed to have begun.
After the shooting, at 12:47 p.m., the Toyota Camry received a speeding penalty, the prosecutor said. The car was traveling 22 miles per hour, which was faster than the posted limit, a few blocks away from the scene.
The four men then drove to the residence of one of the persons of interest and parked in a different parking lot even though there were a number of available spaces in front of the apartment complex. The prosecution said this was done on purpose because the men “intended to move as far away from the car as possible.”
The four men were spotted moving apart toward the house while wearing their hoodies up in an effort to conceal their identities, according to the prosecutor.
The prosecution said there had been ongoing disputes between gangs in the Saratoga and Edgewood neighborhoods. A gang in Langdon Park was allied with Edgewood, while gangs for 18th and Otis streets were allied with Saratoga.
One of the three people shot that day is known to frequent the bodega, which is connected to Langdon Park, where the murder took place.
“The missing piece to their puzzle is that there was no physical evidence that proves Mr. Harris was on the scene,” defense attorney Jonathan S. Zucker said.
He said that none of the four eyewitness’ descriptions fit Harris.
Harris’ height and unique hair are the first things people notice about him, Zucker said. The witnesses “would have mentioned it if he had been there.”
According to the first witness, there were four gunmen of varied heights who were black. The shooter was described by the second witness as being 5’9″ and 5’10”, of medium build, and sporting a white shirt and a white sweatshirt. The person who was questioned at the hospital said the shooter was tall, had prominent cheekbones, and was wearing a red sweatshirt.
“Four witnesses, none describe the shooter being 4’9 120 pounds, bushy dreads, white sleeves and black hat,” Zucker wrote on a slideshow that was shown in court.
He also argued that the cartridges that were found in the vehicle were found to come from three of the four men seen on the surveillance footage. None were found to have Harris’ DNA on it.
Additionally, he said there was no evidence linking Walters or the other victims to the Langdon Park neighborhood or any known gang affiliations, so there wasn’t a clear motive.
After the incident, there was only a brief interview with the surviving victim at the hospital.
However, Zucker emphasized to the court that the interview wasn’t sufficiently thorough.
DNA that was discovered on a piece of evidence belonged to a female and a guy. Police found the man, but the female was never located or contacted.
After counsel completed their closing arguments, DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt gave the jury instructions before they began deliberations.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are asking for the public’s help in locating 21-year-old Leonard Downing in connection to a non-fatal shooting that occurred on Nov. 27, on I-395 at Maine Avenue, SE.
According to a press release, at about 1:10 am, officers located an adult female victim suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. She was transferred to a local hospital.
