Document: Homicide on 21st Street, NE

The Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating a fatal shooting that occurred on Oct. 24.

According to a press release, officers found 32-year-old Alie Labay suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on the 900 block of 21st Street, NE. Labay was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The suspect in this case has been identified as 30 year-old Gregory Antwan Washington. Washington is described as 5’9” tall and weighs approximately 150 lbs. He is currently wanted on a DC Superior Court arrest warrant for First Degree Murder While Armed. He can be seen in the photo below:

The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers 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 for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.

Document: Arrest Made in February Homicide

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department apprehended Oct. 24 a man for the murder of another man in Northeast, DC in February.

According to a press release, 21-year-old Matthew Walker, a resident of Northeast, DC, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 32-year-old David Anthony Remen. The shooting occurred on the 1700 block of Hamlin Street, NE on February 14, 2019.

Document: Homicide on Alabama Avenue, SE

The Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating a fatal shooting that occurred on Oct. 23.

According to a press release, officers found 19-year-old Alvin Barnes suffering from a gunshot wound on the 2200 block of Alabama Avenue, SE. Barnes was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this homicide or any other homicide in DC. Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s Text Tip Line — 50411.

Judge Ponders New Counsel Appointment

On Oct. 23, A DC Superior Court judge said he is considering whether or not to appoint a public defender as co-counsel in a murder case because of a possible conflict of interest.

Master Matthew Thomas is charged with felony murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for allegedly shooting 59-year-old Chijioke Agbakahi on the 5100 block of Georgia Avenue, NW. Thomas, 33, is also charged with first and second-degree murder in Prince George’s County, Md.

DC Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe said he may appoint Jessica Willis, who is with the public defender’s service, to Thomas’ case. However, Thomas is currently being represented by Heather Pinckney, who is a Criminal Justice Act attorney, and Sellano L. Simmons, who has a private law firm in the District.

Judge Iscoe said he was not sure if the appoint of the public defender would create a conflict of interest when paired with other two attorneys who are representing Thomas.

Judge Iscoe said if there is no conflict of interest with the public defender and the CJA attorney being co-counsel, Willis would be appointed immediately.

“I’m just sorry that I’m not going to be on this case because I find it to be very interesting,” Judge Iscoe said. His felony calendar term will be over in December.

Willis would to assist the defense in responding to the prosecution’s use ballistics evidence of the crime scene.

The defense said they were no longer prepared to proceed with the case at the next motion hearing scheduled on Nov 4, requesting more time. Another motions hearing has not been scheduled as of Oct. 23.

Pinckney has until Jan. 3, 2020 to file any motions on any ballistic evidence issues.

The case is scheduled for a jury trial in May of 2021.

Thomas is being held without bail.

Homicides in Last 3 Months Nearly Half the Amount of Murders in First 6 Months of 2019

Gun-related homicides from July 1 to Sept. 30 totaled nearly half of the number of homicides that occurred in the first half of the year.

According to D.C. Witness data, there were 61 gun-related homicides from Jan. 1 to June 30. There were 41 homicides from July 1 to Sept. 30.

During the first three months of 2019, there were 28 gun-related homicides in DC, according to D.C. Witness data. From April to June, gun-related homicides increased to 34.

There have been 52 homicides in total from July to September, according to D. C. Witness data. In July there were 20 homicides, 18 of which were gun related; August had 17 homicides, nine of which were gun related; and there were 15 homicides in September, 14 were gun related.

In an effort to reduce gun-related crime, the Metropolitan Police Department collected 425 guns from July to September. There were 160 recoveries in July, 140 in August and 145 in September.

Of the four quadrants in the district, Southeast and Northeast had the most gun recoveries. Police recovered 184 guns in Southeast, DC; 118 guns in Northeast and 11 guns in Southwest. Northwest had the least amount of recoveries, resulting in only six firearms.

D.C. Witness previously reported, the police department collected 333 firearms from April 1 to June 30. The department collected 448 firearms were collected from Jan. 1 through March 31.

The DC Council passed a law that temporarily seizes guns, the red flag law, in December of 2018.The law is being used as a broader gun control package, reported the Washington City Paper.

The law allows residents to report a person, who they believe is a danger to themselves or others and are in possession of one or more firearms. The police are then able to confiscate the firearms from that individual for a temporary time frame.

Eighteen states have implemented the red flag law, including California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

Judge Sentences Murderer to 10 Years for Fatal Stabbing

A judge sentenced Oct. 23 a murder defendant to ten years in prison for killing a young woman.

Deangelo Thorne, 29, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed in July for stabbing 23-year-old Waliyatou Amadou on the 1400 block of W St., NW on Jan. 8, 2017. He was initially charged with second-degree murder while armed.

“There is a certainty of conviction by plea opposed to uncertainty of trial,” said DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman.

Judge Edelman said he accepted the plea deal because, even though he wanted to sentence Thorne to more than ten years in prison, he would have to put the case back in pre-trial, which would have taken longer to get a conviction.

However, the amount of time of the conviction did not sit well with Amadou’s family.

“Ten years,” said Amadou’s brother. “Is that all a life is worth?”

The brother told the court how much pain he had been in since the loss of his sister.

The brother said he went to look for Thorne after the stabbing and considered taking the law into his own hands. However, he had faith in the justice system and remained nonviolent.

“The pain, the loss, the guilt I feel inundates me,” he said

Thorne’s defense attorney, Matthew Davies, asked Judge Edelmn to accept the plea deal and requested that he recommend placing Thorne at Federal Medical Center Butner, a federal medical prison in North Carolina.

Davies said Thorne has struggled with mental health issues all his life and placement at Butner would help him recover.

According to court documents, Amadou’s death was the result of a dispute between her and Thorne. Amadou was found in the laundry room of an apartment building with multiple stab wounds. There is no evidence that suggests Thorne and Amadou were in a romantic relationship.

Document: Homicide in Kenilworth

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred on the 4400 block of Ponds Street, NE.

According to a press release, officers found 23-year-old Juwaun Robert Smith, a resident of Northeast, DC, suffering Oct. 22 from multiple gunshot wounds inside a vehicle. Smith was taken o a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest or conviction in this homicide or any other homicide in Washington, DC. Anyone with information should call the police at 202-727-9099. Anonymous information may also be submitted to the department’s Text Tip Line — 50411.

[documentcloud url=”http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6555675-10-23-19-Homicide-4400-Block-of-Ponds-Street.html” responsive=true]

Document: Homicide on Ponds Street, NE

The Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating a fatal shooting that occurred on Oct. 22 .

According to a press release, officers found 23-year-old Juwuan Robert Smith unconscious, in a vehicle, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on the 4400 block of Ponds Street, NE. Smith was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Defense Attorney Withdraws from Murder Case

During a status hearing on Oct, 22 a defense attorney withdrew herself from a murder case.

Marquette Jordan was arrested on April 30, 2018, for allegedly stabbing 58-year-old Ivan Lynch on the 900 block of 5th Street, SE. Jordan, 28, was indicted on first-degree murder while armed.

Defense counsel, Khadijah Ali, filed a motion to withdraw from the case for reasons not given in open court.

DC Superior Court Judge Milton C. Lee, granted Ali’s motion to be removed while defense counsel Howard McEachern will remain on the case.

D.C. Witness previously reported that Ali also wanted Jordan to receive a forensic evaluation, however, Judge Lee did not rule on the matter during the proceedings.

Judge Lee also gave both parties more time to figure out all the evidence issues, such as getting Jordan a copy of his complete interview with police and the surveillance videos Jordan claimed were tampered with during his hearing on Oct. 21

The prosecutor said she filed protective orders for grand jury documents as well.

A trial readiness hearing is scheduled on February 21, 2020.

Defendant Pleads Guilty to Killing Man Over Cigarette

A murder defendant pleaded guilty Oct. 22 to killing a man over a cigarette.

Donnell Mills, 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed with all remainder charges dismissed. He was initially charged with first-degree murder while armed and attempt to commit armed robbery for allegedly stabbing Jelani Mohammed, 38, on the 1500 block of Benning Road, NE on Nov. 8, 2018.

During a status hearing, Mills took a plea deal. According to the terms of the deal, Mills could serve 16-22 years in prison.

If the case had gone to trial, Mills could have faced 30-60 years in prison under DC voluntary sentencing guidelines.

Mills’ co-defendant in the case is 28-year-old Dale Thomas. Thomas was also charged with first-degree murder while armed. Thomas was not present for the hearing. A plea offer has not been extended to Thomas, according to DC Courts.

According to a police report, the victim said the men attacked him over a cigarette. Video surveillance also showed the men trying to take Mohammed’s backpack.

Thomas, who is pending a grand jury indictment, was scheduled for a felony arraignment on Oct. 25. However, the hearing was vacated. Another hearing has not been scheduled, according to DC Courts.

Mills is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 24, 2020.

Mills and Thomas are both being held at DC Jail without bail.

Document: 17-Year-Old Dies in Traffic Fatality

On Oct. 22, a driver of a vehicle was killed in a traffic accident on the 6200 block of Eastern Avenue, NE.

According to a MPD press release, a Toyota 4-Runner was traveling west on at the intersection of Eastern Avenue, Northeast. An Infinity I30 was traveling northbound on Eastern Avenue, Northeast, when the two vehicles collided. The impact caused the Infinity to
redirect across opposing traffic on Eastern Avenue and strike a light pole. DC Fire and
Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and transported one of the passengers of the Infinity I30 to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The other passenger of the Infinity I30 was transported to an area hospital and was admitted in critical condition.

The driver of the Infinity I30 was transported to an area hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The driver and passenger of the Toyota 4-Runner were transported to a local hospital fortreatment of non-life threatening injuries.

The decedent has been identified as 17 year-old Jerome Clark Jr., of Northeast, DC.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is requested to contact the Metropolitan Police Department at (202) 727-9099.

Murder Defendants Plea Not Guilty to 1st-Degree Murder

During a felony arraignment, two of five murder defendants rejected plea offers and pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder while armed.

Stephon Evans and Alonzo Brown are indicted on with first-degree murder while armed, conspiracy to commit a crime of violence while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and assault with the intent to kill while armed charges for their alleged involvement in the death of 22-year-old Michael Taylor on the 1700 block of Benning Road, NE on Jan. 12. Naquel Henderson, Tavist Alston, and Carlos Turner are also charged with first-degree murder in relation to the homicide.

According to the terms of a plea offer, if Evans, 19, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder while armed, then all additional charges would be dropped. In addition the prosecution would recommended a maximum sentence of 30 years. If Brown, 21, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed, all other charges would be dropped, and the prosecution would recommend an 18-24 year sentence.

According to the DC voluntary sentencing guidelines, first-degree murder while armed conviction for a defendant who had a criminal history score of 0-0.5 carries a sentence between 30-60 years in prison.

Evans and Brown did not explain why they rejected the offers in open court.

Alston, 26, Henderson, 22, and Turner, 21, have not yet been indicted in the case. The three defendants have also not received plea offers as of Oct. 21.

The prosecutor said she expects to secure an indictment against Alston by December.

The prosecution also told DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman that all remaining evidence would be given to the defense within three weeks.

Henderson and Turner were not present at the hearing. Turner is scheduled for a felony status conference on Feb. 7, 2020. Henderson is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 14.

Alston, Brown and Evans are scheduled for a status hearing on Dec. 20.

Murder Defendant Not Competent To Stand Trial, Report Says

On Oct. 21, a murder defendant’s mental health evaluation revealed that she is still not competent to stand trial.

Alisa Randall, 31, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 59-year-old Ronald Jones in an apartment on the 1300 block of Euclid Street, NW. Randall was arrested on July 15, but it is unclear when Jones was stabbed in the chest.

DC Superior Court Judge Iscoe ordered Randall be sent back to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, DC’s psychiatric hospital, for competency restoration.

Randall was first sent to St. Elizabeth’s for a mental health evaluation in August. Judge Iscoe ruled then that she was not competent to stand trial on Aug 23. After spending 60 days at the hospital, Judge Iscoe once again ruled that the defendant was not competent to stand trial.

According to court documents, Randall’s competency was unable to be completely restored. The specifics of why restoration was unsuccessful were sealed.

Attorneys John Fowler and Ashley Prather-Guzman said Randall should not be held to the substantial probability standard of being competent to stand trial because the mental health report did not state with certainty that full competency would be restored.

Defense counsel requested that Randall be released under a ruling that said mentally incompetent people cannot be involuntarily held for an indefinite period of time based solely on their permanent incompetency to stand trial.

Judge Iscoe denied the claim, saying there was no basis for the argument. He said the mental health report states that Randall is still “likely” to gain competency, it does not state that she will not restore full competency.

Judge Iscoe ordered Randall be evaluated again and that this time the report state if full competency could be restored.

Randall’s next mental observation hearing is scheduled on Oct. 31.

She is currently being held St. Elizabeths.

New Police Recruit May Have Lost Important Body Cam Footage, Manager Says

A manager of the Metropolitan Police Department’s body worn camera program said a murder case’s investigation was not placed in the correct category by a new recruit.

Deon Crowell, 50, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing Joni Rockingham, 53, on Dec. 12, 2017. Rockingham’s body was found on the 3300 block of 34th Street, NE. According to court documents, she was last seen on the 3300 block of Ames Street, NE.

According to the manager, the recordings that are specific to Crowell’s case were deleted because they were incorrectly categorized. The footage was placed under the incident, no arrest category instead of the murder/manslaughter category.

Footage placed under the incident, no arrest category is deleted after 90 days for privacy concerns, the manager said. Footage placed under the murder/manslaughter category is not deleted until after 65 years.

The manager said training for the entire Body Worn Camera Program (BWC), which also includes uploading footage, only required officers to watch a video. The manager, who is a civilian employee, said an assessment is not given to officers after watching the video.

According to a general order of BWC, officers are trained from footage of previous recordings that serve as guidance on how to handle particular incidents or events, constructive feedback and discussion of tactical decision-making and/or to improve officer safety.

“The use of BWC is woven into the Metropolitan Police Department Academy so they become very accustomed to the Body Worn Camera Program throughout their entire 28-week program,” Alaina Gertz, a spokesperson for MPD, told D.C. Witness in response to new recruit training.

Defense attorney Elizabeth Weller filed a motion in August requesting that DC Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson suppress key evidence after she learned that body camera footage of the investigation into Crowell had been deleted.

The motion alleges that 145 files, totaling approximately 25 hours of body camera footage, were deleted. Weller said her case is more difficult to investigate because she does not have the video.

She specifically requested that Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers testimonies be suppressed since their testimonies could not be challenged with video evidence. Weller also requested that DNA evidence be suppressed since she could not verify that it was handled properly.

The motions hearing is scheduled to continue on Nov. 26 with testimony from the case’s lead detective.

Murder Defendant Requests Removal of One of His Attorneys

A murder defendant requested that one of his attorneys removed during a status hearing on Oct. 21.

In November of 2018 Marquette Jordan was indicted on first-degree murder while armed, robbery while armed, threat to kidnap or injure a person, assault with a dangerous weapon, simple assault and carrying a dangerous weapon outside a home or office with a prior felony for allegedly stabbing 58-year-old Ivan Lynch, a resident of Hyattsville, Md., on the 900 block of 5th Street, SE. Jordan, 28, was initially charged with second-degree murder while armed.

Defense attorney Khadijah Ali said Jordan expressed that he would like to represent himself when she and her co-counsel Howard McEachern, who was not present in court, visited the defendant over the weekend.

Ali also said that she wanted Jordan to have a forensic evaluation done and thought it would be best if new counsel could be placed on the case.

However, in court, Jordan said he actually wanted Ali removed from the case and McEachern to stay on as his counsel.

Jordan also requested that he be able to see his full interview with police because he said he had only been shown ten minutes of the interview that lasted more than an hour.

He also asked for all the surveillance footage the prosecution gathered because he believed that times of the incident had been tampered with.

Since McEachern was not in court, DC Superior Court Judge Milton C. Lee continued the hearing. Judge Lee said he wanted McEachern could be present to respond to Jordan’s request. The hearing is continued to Oct. 22.

The prosecutor also agreed to send Jordan all surveillance footage. The prosecutor said she also sent grand jury documents to the defense.

Jordan is being held at DC Jail without bail.

Search