Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a traffic fatality resulting from a traffic trash on Jan. 15, at the intersection of 15th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NW.
The decedent has been identified as 24-year-old Carlos Enrique Christian.
On Jan. 15, 30-year-old Reginald Johnson was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, driving under the influence, and reckless driving.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Jan. 15, on the 3200 block of 15th Place, SE.
According to a press release, at about 12:49 am, officers located two adult male victims suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. One of the victims was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The decedent has been identified as 34-year-old Renaldo Griffin.
On Jan. 13, during a felony status conference, an issue over an indictment led to the defense’s request for release of a murder defendant. The indictment deadline was initially set for Jan. 15.
Marktwan Hargraves, 24, was arrested for the murder of six year old Nyiah Courtney. This was allegedly the result of a gang related drive-by shooting, which happened on July 16, 2021 on the 300 block of Parkland Place, SE.
Defense Attorney Anthony Matthews claimed he was not aware of the full extent of the charges being brought against his client, since he had not yet received the indictment.
Upon hearing this, the prosecutor expressed she did not know if she was legally allowed to say the charges in open court before the indictment. Despite this, she told the defense the charges being brought against Hargraves included second-degree murder.
During the hearing, the prosecution also requested a trial date.
Matthews called this suggestion “problematic”, as he did not yet have access to the indictment. He expressed that if he did not receive the indictment by the end of the day, then Hargraves should be released.
“Nine months is nine months”, said Matthews.
Towards the beginning of Friday’s hearing, the prosecution said the indictment would be ready two days before the deadline. However, the prosecutor also stated that she was unsure if the hard deadline was Sunday. She said she was under the impression that this deadline only counted business days.
The prosecutor insisted the indictment would be filed on Friday, and that she would be willing to schedule the arraignment for later in the day. The defense and DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan concurred.
The arraignment occurred, and Hargraves pleaded not guilty to all charges including second-degree murder. A trial date was set for April 29, 2024.
An IPA hearing is set to happen on March 27.
Defense counsel stated Jan. 13 that the current trial date is “not ideal” due to the lack of progress in DNA testing.
Terrence Prue, 22, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly killing 39-year-old Bruce Wayne Gilmore.
The incident, which occurred on the 300th block of 22nd Street, SE on June 5, 2019, also left another victim injured. Prue was arrested in connection to this incident on Nov. 25, 2019.
During the Friday hearing, defense counsel said he was still awaiting funding for DNA testing. The motion for defense to receive funding for proper DNA testing was filed, yet no progress has been made, he said.
Defense Attorney James King said he believes that DNA evidence will prove Prue’s innocence in this case, yet delays in DNA evidence testing have caused the defense’s case to lag.
When asked by DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan for a status update, King admitted that the defense is falling behind because of these delays.
Conversely, the prosecution expects to be ready on time.
The trial date, which was initially set for Feb. 13, has been moved to Sept. 4 2024, due to delays surrounding DNA testing.
A status hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15 at 9:30 a.m. in order to discuss the standing of the DNA testing and ensure progress in the case is being made.
On Jan. 13, the prosecution confirmed that they are moving towards returning an indictment by the end of the day.
Damonta Thompson, 26, Erwin Dubose, 28, and Kamar Queen, 25, are charged with first-degree murder while armed on Sept. 4, 2021, on the 600 block of Longfellow Street, NW. The men are accused of allegedly shooting 31-year-old Donetta Dyson, 24-year-old Keenan Braxton and 37-year-old Johnny Joyner and injuring three others.
Toyia Johnson, 50, was charged with tampering with evidence.
During the Friday hearing, the parties set an arraignment date for Jan. 20.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are asking for the public’s help in locating suspects in connection to a non-fatal shooting that occurred on Jan. 11, on the 6000 block of 14th Street, NW.
According to a press release, at about 4:09 pm, officers located a 6-year-old female and a 9-year-old male suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. A third male victim was located by officers suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
As a result of the investigation, 32-year-old Stephen Perdomo was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in connection to a third-degree sex abuse offense that occurred on Jan. 10, on the 1300 block of Otis Place, NW.
According to a press release, at about 11:10 am, the suspect forcefully engaged in unwanted sex contact with the victim then fled the scene.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Jan. 11, on the 3900 block of South Capitol Street, SW.
According to a press release, at about 9:39 pm, officers located two adult male victims suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. One of the victims was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The decedent has been identified as 23-year-old Anthony Richardson.
Nearly three months after the homicide of 19-year-old Reginald Cooper and 19-year-old Davonte Berkley on the 1300 block of Congress Street, SE on Oct. 17, 2022, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) arrested 19-year-old Amarii Fontanelle.
On Jan. 12 Fontanelle was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed.
On Jan. 11, the third day of a murder trial, a forensic pathologist confirmed the victim’s cause of death.
Clifton Browne, 58, is charged with second-degree murder in connection to the deadly beating of 76-year-old Luther Brooks on the 1300 block of Kalmia Road, NW on Sept. 27, 2021. Browne was the nephew of Brooks’ landlord’s close friend.
During cross examination by Joseph Fay, Browne’s defense attorney, an expert from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that Brooks died from an inability to breathe due to fractured ribs.
The expert said she could clearly see blunt force injury to the victim’s head, right side of his neck, ribs, arms and hands.
“Could these type of injuries be caused by a fall from a sitting position?” the prosecutor asked.
“This would unlikely be caused by a fall from a seated position,” she replied.
The expert also noted that the victims injuries were not constant with a fall from a flight of stairs. “It would have to be 50 stairs and the surface of the stairs would also have to be taken into account.”
According to a 911 call, played in court on Jan. 10, the victim’s landlord told a dispatcher Brooks fell down the stairs. The witness later said she lied.
A close friend of the victim’s landlord, who suggested her nephew Browne assist with the home renovations, said she and the defendant visited the landlord’s home the day before the incident.
When questioned about the tenant and victim’s relationship, she said she was unaware of any issues between them. However, she said there had been tension between them a few months before the incident because the tenant asked Brooks to leave so she could sell the house.
DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo scheduled the trial to resume on Jan. 12.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives made an arrest in connection to a non-fatal shooting that occurred on Jan. 9, on the 100 block of Monroe Street, NE.
According to a press release, at about 10:55 am, the suspect and the victim were involved in an argument. During the argument, the suspect brandished a weapon, and the victim was shot.
On Jan. 10, 19-year-old Ilon Melson was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.
As a homicide trial resumed on Jan. 10, an eyewitness to the crime said she heard men fighting before the victim was mortally wounded.
Clifton Browne, 58, is charged with second-degree murder in conncection to the deadly beating of 76-year-old Luther Brooks on the 1300 block of Kalmia Road, NW on Sept. 27, 2021. Browne was the nephew of Brooks’ landlord’s close friend.
The victim’s neighbor, who witnessed the incident, said she was working from home in her second-floor home office on the day of the murder. She said she could see the backyard and back alley from where her desk was positioned.
She said around 1:45 p.m., she was sitting at her desk when she began to hear two men fighting and cussing.
“Somebody was very angry, cussing and very loud,” she said.
She said she got up from her desk and looked out the window, seeing someone holding a large object and swinging it over his head repeatedly.
“After they were done swinging, he dropped the object and climbed up the stairs up to the second floor of the home,” she said.
She said she continued to hear more cussing and rumbling around as if things were being moved around in the apartment.
She described the man holding the object as being an African American man wearing dark clothing. He looked to be in his late 40’s, early 50’s, she said.
Defense lawyer Joseph Fay noted, during cross-examination, that the witness told the Grand Jury that she thought the man was 6 feet and of medium build.
The owner of the residence where the incident occurred testified that the victim lived in the basement of her dwelling for six years.
According to the owner, she told the victim six months before the murder that she was going to sell the house and encouraged him to leave.
She said she started asking around for contractors to undertake repairs and add various additions to the house during those six months.
The witness said that, on the morning of the incident, she picked Browne up and spoke to him briefly about the many improvements she wanted made as well as how the downstairs tenant was taking his time leaving but should do so by the weekend.
Browne informed her that he would speak to the victim “man to man.”
When they arrived at the residence, she gave Browne a tour and talked about the issues that needed to be resolved.
She said, a few minutes later she heard a knock on the basement door, followed by what sounded like someone kicking open a door.
After that, she could hear arguing and cussing from the basement, so she went downstairs.
She said she saw the victim holding a big walking stick and observed him banging it once into Browne’s chest.
Browne then got on top of the victim straddling him and repeatedly hitting him.
The victim was then brutally struck by Browne while he was on top of him.
Browne released the victim and allegedly cried out for assistance.
The witness said she contacted 911. The prosecution played the 911 call for the courtroom.
We have an elderly man who fell and harmed himself, the witness told the operator.
“He fell down the stairs,” Browne said in the background. The witness confirmed.
How many stairs did he fall down, the dispatcher inquired? About six or seven, the witness retorted.
The witness said she lied because Browne kept reminding her that he was his father’s caretaker and that he was also her best-friend’s nephew.
Browne and the witness proceeded to Home Depot, bought supplies, and started working on the house after the EMT had taken the victim to the hospital.
Brooks’ relatives are currently suing the witness.
The victim’s son also testified that he visited his father in the intensive care unit at the hospital on the day of the incident.
“He was in bad state,” he said. “He had to get emergency surgery on his skull, so his head was swollen.”
On Oct. 8, 2021, he said the family made the determination to remove the victim’s life support system.
DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo scheduled the trial to resume on Jan. 11.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are asking for the public’s help in locating a vehicle in connection to a non-fatal shooting and attempted armed robbery offense that occurred on Jan. 8, on the 200 block Tingey Street, SE.
According to a press release, at about 4:10 am, the suspect exited a vehicle, brandished a handgun and attempted to rob a victim. During the attempt, the suspect shot the victim.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Jan. 7, on the 1200 block of Half Street, SE.
According to a press release, at about 7:55 pm, officer located 20-year-old Terry Clark with an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Jan. 7, on the 2000 block of Gallaudet Street, NE.
According to a press release, at about 3:00 am, officers located 36-year-old Joshua Parker suffering from an apparent stab wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
