Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Oct. 27, on the intersection of New Jersey Avenue and N Street, NW.
According to a press release, at approximately 12:19 pm, officers located 28-year-old Sophia Johnson inside of a vehicle, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
On Oct. 27, 39-year-old Ariel Cooper was was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed.
This case was acquitted on Nov. 9, 2022.
The Prince George County Police Department told a lead detective in a murder case that officers found the vehicle from a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) flier burned in an abandoned area.
Mike Bidgell, 26, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection to the June 6, 2020, shooting of 18-year-old Marquis Harrod on the 1300 block of Brentwood Road, NE.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office obtained a signed arrest warrant and Bidgell was arrested on June 17, 2020, in Maryland.
The prosecution’s first witness on Oct. 26 was Harrod’s mother. She told the jury she was preparing for her birthday party when she received a call from her sister notifying her that her son had been shot. When she arrived at the scene of the shooting, medics were still working on Harrod, she said.
Surveillance footage of the shooting showed Harrod exited a liquor store. He was approached by a car Bidgell had allegedly gotten into. As people began to flee in various directions, Harrod was observed lying face down on the street after the car had driven away.
The detective sent out a department-wide BOLO for the defendant. Another officer with the MPD recognized Bidgell from his old patrol in the Clay Terrace area. He said he had multiple interactions with the defendant.
The officer gave the detective Bidgell’s Instagram handle to compare the photos from the BOLO to those on the account. Bidgell was seen wearing some of the same clothing and accessories on his Instagram posts as he was in the surveillance footage from the convenience store.
The detective also issued a second BOLO for the black two-door Honda Accord Bidgell was allegedly seen driving in the surveillance video. The car was found burned on June 8, 2020, in an abandoned area in Maryland. According to the detective, the fire started just hours after the shooting.
The owner of the black two-door Honda Accord had Bidgell in her phone listed as ‘’Fav. cuz’’. They excluded the owner of the vehicle as a possible suspect because she was out of town at the time the shooting took place. Her phone was confiscated by the police.
The prosecution also showed the jury records of deleted messages and emails between Bidgell and the owner of the car that were unrecoverable.
DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee scheduled the trial to continue on Oct. 27.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Oct. 27, on the 1200 block of Trinidad Avenue, NE.
According to a press release, at about 1:51 am, officers located 46-year-old Rico Tabron suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A homicide defendant requested a new attorney.
Eric Davis, 59, is accused of fatally shooting 41-year-old Theodore Riley on the 1600 block of Gales Street, SE on July 19, 2021. According to court documents, Riley suffered from a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the Oct. 27 hearing, the prosecution asked that the attorney be appointed as soon as possible in order to continue with the current trial date, which is set for April 15.
Dc Superior Court Judge Milton Lee scheduled the next hearing for Nov.18.
During an Oct. 26 proceeding, witnesses testified about their account of a murder and physical evidence involved in a co-defendant homicide trial.
Jonathan Winston, 33, and Rakeem Willis, 31, are both charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection to the shooting of 26-year-old Javon Abney, 26-year-old Sean Shuler, and 24-year-old Tyrik Hagood on Jan. 26, 2019, on the 1500 block of Fort Davis Place, SE.
One witness discussed hearing gunshots outside his home. He said he peered through his bedroom window to see what was happening. The witness said he saw two silhouettes shooting at a vehicle. He testified that before driving away, one of the individuals inspected the victim on the street and began “messing with it.”
The witness could not see any descriptive facial features and did not recognize either vehicle.
Winston’s defense attorney, Errin Scialpi, questioned the witness about his eyesight. The witness didn’t have glasses on at the time of the shooting. His wife later told detectives that he couldn’t see without glasses.
A detective was asked about his involvement in investigating a burned vehicle that was found in a wooded area in Maryland. Physical evidence retrieved from the vehicle were the remains of a firearm and bullet fragments.
The potential connection between the vehicle and shooting has yet to be announced.
DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan scheduled the trial to continue on Oct. 27.
On Oct. 26, a homicide trial resumed with two witnesses called in to testify regarding their role in the DNA extraction of evidence as well as the alleged weapon used.
On Aug. 10, 2017, Robert Moses, 23, and James Mayfield, 22, allegedly approached the intersection of Montana and Saratoga Avenues, NE while armed with .40 and .45 caliber handguns. Both of the defendants allegedly fired over ten rounds at people standing on Saratoga Avenue. One of the bullets struck 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor in the head as she was driving, killing her. Three other bystanders were also struck and injured by stray bullets.
During the proceeding Wednesday, an expert witness continued his testimony about the weapon used in the homicide. He said he was able to determine the weapon used in the crime by conducting test fires.
He said he fired a gun into a water tank in order to retrieve the bullets. He then collected the bullets and compared them through a comparison microscope. Through this, he found that the bullets were consistent with the shell casings from the scene.
Defense attorney Steven R Kiersh argued that the expert cannot know for certain what gun was used unless he had the actual gun to compare the bullets.
He further stated that there are probably more firearms than people in the U.S. and there are many gun manufacturers. While this is correct, the witness said there are class and individual characteristics used to differentiate what bullets were fired from which guns. He said he uses intercomparisons to do so.
A forensic scientist testified that he processed the 2001 gold Honda Accord on Aug. 14, 2017, and he was told it was used in a homicide case. This was the third vehicle from the case. He also said he told law enforcement everything he found, and they decided on the relevance of the findings.
To begin processing the vehicle, the first step was taking photographs from every angle of the interior and exterior. He said he then swabbed for DNA from anything that can be touched such as the steering wheel, buttons, the armrest and the door handles.
The third step is a physical search of the vehicle. Upon searching the vehicle a box of gloves, a pair of shorts, a jacket, two t-shirts, and a hoodie were recovered from the trunk of the vehicle.
There was also a red solo cup recovered from a cup holder that was swabbed for DNA and a hoodie in the pocket behind the passenger’s seat. The expert explained that everything is swabbed and processed one at a time to properly preserve the DNA from each item.
DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan scheduled the trial to continue on Oct. 27.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives have made an arrest in connection to an offense that occurred on Oct. 26, on the 1200 block of Half Street, SE.
According to a press release, at approximately 6:55 pm, officers located an adult male suffering from a potential gunshot wound.
On Oct. 26, 21-year-old Craig Jermaine Peacock was arrested and charged with assault with intent to kill and carrying a pistol without a license.
Metropolitan Police Department have made an arrest in connection to a non-fatal shooting that occurred on Sept. 17, on the 4800 block of Alabama Avenue, SE.
According to a press release, at about 12:00 pm, officers located a juvenile male suffers from apparent gunshot wounds.
On Oct. 26, officers arrested 23-year-old Michael Blackmond, a 17-year-old juvenile male, and a 14-year-old juvenile male were arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. Also, 50-year-old Paulette Duncan and Blackmond were both arrested and charged with an unregistered firearm.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives extradited and charged 34-year-old Wonell A. Jones, Jr. in connection to a homicide that occurred on July 19, on the 2900 block of Knox Place, SE.
According to a press release, at about 1:24 pm, officers located 33-year-old Audora Williams inside a residence, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Oct. 26, Jones arrived in Washington, DC, and was charged with first-degree murder while armed.
On Oct. 26, prosecutors resumed an ongoing homicide trial by bringing the assistant chief medical examiner from Maryland to explain each puncture wound on a victim displayed in court.
Derek Turner, 31, and Ronnika Jennings, 44, are charged with first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and conspiracy in connection to the shooting of 28-year-old Andrew McPhatter on March 5, 2017, on the 3500 block of Wheeler Road, SE.
The third co-defendant, 33-year-old, Duan Hill, is charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice in this matter.
Turner is also charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 23-year-old Devin Hall on Jan. 7, 2017, on the 3500 block of 6th Street, SE.
The medical examiner identified McPhatter’s punctures through the right side of his cheek that moved up to the right frontal side of the brain, the right side of his butt, right hip, back right thigh that fractured his femur, inner aspect left thigh, and his right forearm.
As the photos displayed for the jury, the victim’s family cried out.
Turner’s defense attorney, Michael Madden, cross-examined the witness, inquiring if she had identified any evidence of McPatter’s puncture wounds being inflicted at a close-range firing disposition.
The witness identified there weren’t any signs of gunpowder or abrasions found on his body because the shots had to be fired outside of a two feet proximity or through objects.
A Metropolitan Patrol Officer testified as the first officer that was called to the 3500 block of Wheeler Road, SE.
According to the officer, he was in a scout car working on a police report in front of Holiday Liquor. He was there to alleviate and dissuade members of the community from selling drugs and surrounding that location.
The officer heard multiple gunshots and went on the radio to report what he had heard and that he was going to respond to the area. The officer turned left out of the Holiday Liquor parking lot and proceeded toward the direction of the noise.
A young male ran in front of his patrol car towards a parking lot that was located behind an elementary school that approached the intersection of Wheeler Road. The officer then heard screaming and saw a dog running in the same direction as the unidentified male.
Prosecutors displayed the body-worn camera of the officer driving twenty feet toward the intersection to find a motionless vehicle sitting at an angle nearly in the middle of the intersection with the engine running and bullet holes in the driver’s door.
The officer carefully opened the door of the vehicle because the window was very tinted. The officer found a black male victim slumped over with his head laying in the passenger seat, his torso sitting on the passenger seat of the vehicle, with his legs still on the driver-side floor panel.
This victim was later identified as McPhatter. He was shot five times through the driver’s side of his door.
A 40-caliber gun and ten millimeters of cartridges were recovered. One live casing was loaded into the firearm. This gun was found on Andrew McPhatter in his waistline.
Another MPD Officer took the stand to testify that he was the first responding officer to the Feb. 22, 2017 shooting that occurred on Alabama Avenue.
Prosecutors also displayed the body-worn camera footage of the officer responding to two black males behind a burgundy Cadillac surrounded by members of the DC community in chaos. One male was shot multiple times in the lower abdomen and another male suffered a lower extremity injury from avoiding the shot.
The next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 27.
DC Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe found there was probable cause to believe a sexual assault defendant’s guilt, and to continue towards a trial during an Oct. 25 preliminary hearing.
The 38-year-old defendant was charged on Aug. 13 with first-degree sexual assault in connection with an Aug. 4 incident on the 100 block of Elmira Street, SE.
The lead detective on the case recounted his interview with the complainant.
The complainant, 47, flagged down a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer in the morning on Aug. 4, he said. The officer paged the detective.
When he and his partner arrived at the scene, the detective said the complainant reported being beaten and sexually assaulted the previous night by her “on-again, off-again boyfriend,” the detective said.
According to the detective, the complainant said she went over to his place late in the night, and they got into an argument over another woman. When the defendant asked to have sex, the complainant said no, and he began to allegedly beat her. He allegedly repeatedly beat her with a wooden clothes hanger, which broke, and started to “slightly penetrating” her, the detective said. He kept her there for some time before allowing her to leave, without her phone, in the morning.
In her interview with the detective, the victim said she knew the defendant had a gun stashed in a bag in the room but clarified that he never used it or threatened to use it that night.
At the Tuesday hearing, the prosecutor offered a plea for one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, along with reducing the sexual abuse count to a misdemeanor. Under the plea, if the defendant pleaded guilty he would not be required to register as a sex offender.
“I’m not going to confess to something I didn’t do,” the defendant said as he rejected the plea deal referencing the dangerous weapon.
The prosecutor produced several photographs of the complainant showing the extent of her injuries from the beating, as well as a photo of the broken hanger.
The detective also testified to previous instances in which the defendant reportedly beat the victim, though no charges were ever filed.
Defense attorney Carrie Weletz said there were “lots of reasons to question [the victim’s] credibility,” and to not find probable cause.
Weletz noted the victim said, “I’m sure everybody heard that, it was so loud.” But the police did not interview any neighbors who said they heard any noise that night.
The prosecutor said it was not that neighbors told police they heard nothing, rather that police did not ask any neighbors about it.
“The detective not following up on something said does not go against her credibility,” the prosecutor said. “If anything, it goes against the MPD.”
Weletz also said that while the victim was in the hospital being treated for her injuries, she texted the defendant. At first, she referred to herself in first person, but at one point, she switched to the third person—referring to herself as “she” as if impersonating someone else who knew of the incident.
Weletz argued that by texting as if she was someone else, the victim was setting the defendant up, making it look like he had taken her phone again.
In Judge O’Keefe’s finding of probable cause, he noted several reasons to believe in the victim’s credibility, like her statement that a gun was present but not used.
The judge referred to the prosecutor’s argument that f she was lying, she could have said the gun was used in the sexual assault and gotten the defendant in even more trouble.
Judge O’Keefe heard from both parties, as well as a victim representative from the Network for Victim Recovery, who requested the defendant be held at the DC Jail for the safety of the victim.
Judge O’Keefe declined to hold the defendant, releasing him under the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP).
The next hearing in this case is scheduled for Dec. 16.
A triple homicide trial resumed with seven witnesses, including four officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and three of the victims’ mothers, were summoned to testify before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan and a jury.
Rakeem Willis, 31, and Jonathan Winston, 33, are both charged with three counts of first-degree murder while armed, one count of conspiracy, three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, and one count of fleeing from a law enforcement officer in connection to the shootings of 26-year-old Sean Shuler, 26-year-old Javon Abney, and 24-year-old Tyrik Hagood. The fatal shooting occurred on Jan. 26, 2019, on the 1500 block of Fort Davis Place, SE.
During the Oct. 25 trial, the prosecution displayed body-worn camera footage from two MPD officers who responded to the scene.
The video depicts the bloody and lifeless body of one of the victims who is believed to have been dragged into the street, while the other dead victims were found in a Toyota Camry parked up the road.
Winston’s defense attorney, Kevin Irving, and Willis’ defense attorney, Howard McEachern cross-examined the witnesses from the MPD who responded to the scene to reveal steps in the investigation with potential civilian witnesses and to identify the location of the dead bodies on a map.
The prosecution also called in Shuler, Abney, and Hagood’s mothers who expressed their grief and struggles in the aftermath of their sons’ murders. Each of the men left behind children who have also experienced heartbreak and hardship since their fathers’ absences, the mothers told the jury.
Judge Ryan scheduled the trial to continue on Oct. 26.
In an Oct. 25 jury trial, experts in DNA and ballistics helped contextualize several key pieces of evidence in a 2017 homicide case.
On Aug. 10, 2017, Robert Moses, 23, and James Mayfield, 22, allegedly approached the intersection of Montana and Saratoga Avenues, NE while armed with .40 and .45 caliber handguns. Collectively, the defendants allegedly fired over ten rounds at people standing on Saratoga Avenue. One of the bullets struck 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor in the head as she was driving, killing her. Three other bystanders were also struck and injured by stray bullets.
The prosecution called an expert in orthopedic medicine and surgery, and a practicing surgeon at George Washington University Hospital. He recalled treating a man who was injured during the Aug. 10 shootings.
According to the expert, the man was already partly paralzed and rendered wheelchair-bound from having been previously shot in his back. When he heard gunshots near the Montana and Saratoga Avenue intersection, he promptly jumped out of his wheelchair. His leg then gave out, causing him to fracture his right hip and leg. The victim denied any loss of consciousness, neck pain, or head trauma but reported experiencing severe pain from these injuries.
Next, a DNA expert resumed his testimony from the previous day. The expert conducted a thorough review on the forensic reports conducted by a different expert, using computer software designed to analyze DNA. The software was specifically designed to disentangle complex DNA samples involving multiple potential people, and report how likely it was that each person’s DNA contributed to the sample.
According to the expert, when analyses were initially run on the sweatshirt, the software determined that Mayfield likely contributed to 8 percent of the DNA. It also found that a different individual accounted for 86 percent of the DNA on the sweatshirt’s interior.
The expert noted that Mayfield’s DNA matched the sweatshirt, as detected on the software. Still, he emphasized the inconclusive nature of the findings revealed by the software, claiming that he “can’t include or exclude [Mayfield] as a suspect.”
The expert added that primary contributors to a DNA sample are generally very likely to have actually worn or repeatedly touched the sampled item, whereas minor contributions sometimes indicate the contributors’ DNA was transferred onto the item. As such, the expert noted that Mayfield’s DNA may have been transferred to the sweatshirt.
During their cross-examination, prosecutors referenced the expert’s DNA analysis in which he wrote, “the wearer of the sweatshirt is more likely the 86% contributor.” Although the statement presumes one single wearer, the expert clarified that others may have also worn the sweatshirt, though their DNA may have degraded over time.
According to the expert, it’s possible that the DNA of the sweatshirt’s actual owner may have been washed off, leading them to only show up as the 8% contributor. He added that a different person may have worn the sweatshirt once while physically active and sweaty, and deposited enough DNA to show up as its primary wearer.
Next, prosecutors called a forensic firearm and toolmark examiner to explain the types of “rifling marks” left on gun casings after bullets are fired, as well as what makes each mark distinctive.
The expert was shown several sets of photos of cartridge casings and bullet fragments, and asked to relay his previous analyses. According to the expert, each set of casings was covered in similar “random imperfections,” referring to the aftermarks and impressions left by the gun when fired. He also found that the first set of casings matched a .40 caliber firearm, while the second matched a .45 caliber firearm.
Moses, 23, was arrested on Aug. 10, 2017, while Mayfield, 22, was arrested on Dec. 28, 2017. They are charged with more than a dozen counts each, including first-degree murder while armed, assault with the intent to kill and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan set the trial to continue Oct. 26.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating a homicide that occurred on Jan. 21, on the unit block of 61st Street, NE.
According to a press release, at about 9:27 pm, officers located a 1.5-month-old Storm Serenity Frazier unconscious and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
During an Oct. 25 hearing, a murder defendant’s defense attorney argued that the prosecution withheld evidence that needed to be disclosed to the defense for four years.
Alonzo Lewis, 33, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed against a minor, and three counts of possession of a firearm during crime of violence. He allegedly shot 40-year-old Jaquon Helm and 35-year-old Venius Badgett on the 4600 block of Galveston Street, SW inside the Gardens Apartments’ parking lot on May 26.
The prosecution said the evidence was never received.
DC Superior Court Judge Okun denied the defense’s request to bring in more evidence.
The case is still on course for trial, which was rescheduled from Nov. 2 to March 23, 2023.
The next hearing is set for Oct. 27.
