The man who fired the fatal shot in the stray bullet killing of 11-year-old Davon McNeal was sentenced along with two other co-defendants for voluntary manslaughter while armed.
MPD officers responded to the 1400 block of Cedar Street, SE on July 4, 2020 and located 11-year-old McNeal lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. McNeal was transported to the hospital but life-saving efforts failed and he was pronounced dead.
Two initial suspects, Christen Wingfield, 24, and Daryle Bond, 20, were arrested on July 9 and July 10 respectively. Carlo General, 21, was not arrested until July 29, 2020, when members of a fugitive task force apprehended him in Maryland. A fourth suspect, Marcel Gordon, 27, was arrested in Maryland on Aug. 31, 2020.
General and his co-defendants were indicted on first degree murder while armed, conspiracy and two gun charges on Feb. 9 of this year. On Feb. 28, General pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed and signed a proffer that he had fired the shot that struck McNeal in 2020. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed with aggravating circumstances, which carries a sentencing range of 13 to 16 years in Washington D.C., which includes a five-year mandatory minimum for his use of a firearm.
General was the last of the co-defendants to accept a guilty plea and was sentenced on June 3.
A prosecutor showed six angles of the incident through surveillance footage during the sentencing. He narrated the timeline of events as it played out and verbally identified each individual seen in the video.
McNeal is seen leaving a vehicle on one side of the street before crossing over into the 1400 block of Cedar Street, SE to get a phone charger. He speeds up into a run and curves toward a basement door before he collapses from being shot. Carlo General then runs into frame and looks down an alley that leads into the rear of the block, according to court documents.
Daryle Bond then arrives at the location, followed by Wingfield and Gordon, respectively. All four men are on foot. They all peak down the alleyway, see McNeal lying dead at a basement door and proceed to collectively run down Cedar Street from the crime scene.
The prosecutor emphasized several aggravating factors in his sentencing recommendation. General was carrying a laser-sighted gun, he appeared to lead the other three defendants down the street to open fire and he was intoxicated on percocet and marijuana. “Because of [General’s] actions, McNeil is dead,” the prosecutor said. “Carlo General is the most cold-blooded of all the defendants. Carlo General is the reason we are here today.”
Defense lawyer Mary Kennedy noted that throughout criminal proceedings, her client had shown himself to be remorseful of his actions. First, General did not contest the notion that he had fired the fatal shot that killed McNeal. Second, General has accepted a plea deal that carries a heavier sentence than all his co-defendants.
Kennedy also addressed the prosecutor’s focus on General’s admission to firing the fatal shot as extraneous in the context of pre-sentencing, recommending a 13-year sentence.
“The government’s recommendation describes something to Mr. General, that is something not present,” she said. “There is no world in which Mr. General had any intent to harm Davon. It was tragic, but happenstance that Mr. General was faster [running to the location] and that the bullet came from his gun.”
General read a pre-written statement in court. “I know none of us wanted to be here. I’m sorry for my role in the incident, I’m sorry for the pain and suffering,” General said. “I loved the little boy myself. It hurts. I have to live with it the rest of my life … I’ve lost a lot of people in my life. I’ve been to a lot of funerals. I know hurt – I just know how to hide my pain like a shield. I just wish things could go back to how they were, but it can’t. We all just have to learn to forgive and move on positively in life. I’ll value the words that were passed and I’ll learn from them.”
Judge Rainey Brandt summarized the letters she received from General’s family and community. Among them were letters from General’s mother, a family friend who had known General since he was a baby and General’s old school teacher, all of whom had expressed that General was not who he seemed.
“By all accounts, according to your family and friends, everyone is in complete shock that you are here,” Brandt said, addressing General.
Kennedy requested General be sentenced under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA), but Brandt rejected the request due to his criminal history.
Brandt said in a non-legal context that if she were to sentence General under the YRA, it would be equivalent to “erasing” McNeal’s death.
“You did step up and take responsibility in this plea, but it took law enforcement a little while to track you down,” Brandt said. “To really step up, means you step up and take responsibility immediately after you find out that you’ve done something that’s wrong, no matter what the consequences will be. That is a sign of an adult. That is the sign of a person who’s contrite.”
“Ms McNeil, in all of her grief, is correct that with the sentences that were agreed upon by these plea deals, all of you gentlemen will have an opportunity to start over. Little Davon will not,” Judge Brandt told the defendants. “That mom’s grief was really real and painful. They all asked that I give you leniency for your mistake. Davon McNeil, his life was not a mistake. Copying down the wrong telephone number is a mistake. You are running through the streets with a gun, shooting willy-nilly … you forgot you have to be punished and hopefully you will reflect. Because at some point in time you will have an opportunity to rebuild your life.”
General was sentenced to 192 months, or 16 years, in prison for voluntary manslaughter while armed with a firearm with aggravating circumstances with five years supervised release. He will serve the first five years as a mandatory minimum for his use of a handgun in the crime.
Wingfield was sentenced to 114 months for voluntary manslaughter while armed. Bond’s sentence was postponed to a later date.
