The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a man they believe is connected to a fatal shooting that occurred in December.
According to a press release, police arrested 38-year-old Robert Tyrone Henson and charged him with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 37-year-old Richard Lee Dudley on Dec. 10, 2018.
Dudley was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
During a motions hearing Feb. 28, a murder defendant’s attorney accused the prosecution of violating her client’s constitutional right to a speedy trial.
Hakeem Burroughs, 27, is charged with first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill while armed, among other offenses, for his alleged role in the death of 22-year-old Jarell Walker on the 3700 block of Hayes Street, NE in 2016.
Burroughs’ attorney, Dominique Winters, told the court that the prosecution failed to follow through with the arguments they made to continue the defendant’s trial date. Apparently, the prosecution was supposed to take steps toward obtaining a second indictment, assess a potential cooperating witness’s “viability” and give the defense evidence about the witness.
The trial was continued to April 5 from May of 2018.
Winters also said a lawyer, who was representing another witness in the case, told her the prosecution said the case was “going away.” Winters said she believes the prosecution never intended to obtain a second indictment and instead “threatened” to, as a “last ditch effort,” continue the trial.
Winters filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on Feb. 5.
A prosecutor refuted the defense’s claims, saying a cooperating witness threw a “wrench” in her attempt to follow through. Apparently, the witness was charged with a felony in connection to an unrelated “incident” that occurred on July 16, 2018. The prosecutor said she doesn’t plan on calling the individual as a witness.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson requested that the prosecution provide a timeline of the actions that were taken on the case leading up to the July incident and after the incident occurred.
Judge Dayson also scheduled the motions hearing to resume on March 22, when she is expecting to make a ruling on whether or not to dismiss the indictment.
A DC Superior Court judge agreed Feb. 28 to continue a murder defendant’s sentencing.
In November, a jury found David Jones guilty of second-degree murder, reckless driving, driving under the influence of a drug or alcohol and fleeing the scene in connection to the death of 65-year-old Carolyn Ellis at the intersection of 10th and U Street, NW in 2017.
Judge Ronna Beck delayed Jones’ sentencing to to June 7. The sentencing was originally scheduled on March 8. Judge Beck also said there was a possibility the prosecution was planning on offering Jones a post verdict plea agreement. Counsel didn’t expand on the potential plea offer.
Judge Beck ultimately agreed to continue the sentencing for nearly three months in order to give Jones time to finish taking a college class at DC Jail. Apparently, the course ends at the end of May.
In addition to the continuance, the judge also appointed Elizabeth Weller as Jones’ new defense attorney and dismissed his previous attorney, Antoini Brown. Apparently, Jones, 38, and Brown had a “falling out.”
During the trial, the prosecution said a police officer saw a black man with dreadlocks, which matches Jones’ description, speeding in a black car in the vicinity of the crime scene. Surveillance video captured a dark-colored car run a red light and turn onto U Street, fatally striking Ellis, who was crossing the street.
Read more about Jones’ case, here.
After a horrific start to 2019, D.C. Witness data shows that transparency about homicide cases is needed more than it ever was.
Even though the District considers itself progressive by ensuring defendants of crime get adequate representation and equal justice, the city still lacks transparency in its judicial process. This makes it difficult for residents to hold government agencies accountable for providing adequate resources and protection to all.
There is a distrust lurking throughout the District. For some, that distrust is aimed at the police and, for others, that distrust is of government officials and media outlets who prioritize certain people and neighborhoods over others.
But, when anyone dies in DC, the whole city suffers.
As of Feb. 28, there have already been 29 homicides in the city, nearly a 93 percent increase in homicides from a year ago. February alone has already had ten homicides.
Ten homicides is far less than the 19 homicides tallied in January, but it is still way too high for a city that boosts coming of age changes, relishes in its appeal to tourists and stands as the corner of governmental policy for the entire country.
For four years, D.C. Witness has fought to bring transparency on homicides in our city and, in doing so, serve our fellow residents. The D.C. Witness staff has learned about and researched several different ways we could provide this information more effectively. So, we are growing to meet the community’s need. As we grow, I thought it would be useful to answer some questions about who we are.
D.C. Witness is a nonprofit organization that focuses on delivering transparency to every community in DC about homicides happening in our city. To achieve this transparency, D.C. Witness attends court hearings and trials daily, reporting on events about which the general public is not often informed. D.C. Witness also collects data from agencies across the city, which is not collected anywhere else, to try to provide insights that can be used to tackle the plague of homicides.
D.C. Witness wants to shine the light on issues and communities long ignored. The organization also wants to provide objective information so that effective public policies can been formulated to work toward eliminating homicides. In addition, the D.C. Witness staff hopes to provide information that might curb some of the fears residents have with regard to the rising number of homicides and their distrust of police by providing reliable data and coverage.
D.C. Witness has tracked every homicide in DC since 2015. By tracking every case from act to judicial resolution, D.C. Witness provides in-depth data reporting on homicide cases by attending each hearing and trial to create news articles and analytical pieces to inform the community on the status of each case and the policy issues they involve. Before D.C. WItness, most cases received scant coverage in the DC media. One of our goals is to fill that gap by reporting on every homicide in the city regardless of location, socio-economic status, race, gender, identity, or anything that might set them apart. We believe that only full transparency can ensure justice is fair and equitable.
Community awareness and engagement is important if we are to prevent a resurgence of the kind of numbers seen in the 1980s and 90s. That might seem hyperbole, but your support is what makes this machine run.
Like all nonprofit organizations, D.C. Witness relies on donors to support our efforts. In this new year, we ask that people who can afford to spare even as little as $5 contribute to our cause of keeping residents informed and safe. To donate, please click here. Thank you.
Yours respectfully,
LaTrina Antoine
D.C. Witness Editor in Chief
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting that occurred on the 400 block of 37th Place, SE .
According to a press release, 19-year-old Corey Farmer died Feb. 27 from injuries he sustained after being shot eight days before. Farmer sustained injuries on Feb. 19 along with another adult male and a juvenile. All three victims were taken to a local hospital. The statuses of the other individuals have not been released, as of Feb. 27.
Police are offering up to a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this homicide or any other homicide in DC.
During a murder trial Feb. 27, a DNA expert told a jury that a defendant’s semen was found on a pair of leggings that was used to bind a 34-year-old woman.
El Hadji Alpha Madiou Toure, 31, is charged with first-degree murder while armed and first-degree sexual abuse, among other offenses, for his alleged role in the stabbing death of Corrina Mehiel on the 600 block of 14th Street, NE in 2017. According to the prosecution, the case is being tried as “especially heinous.”
The expert said there was also DNA found on the waistband of the leggings and on the knots made in the leggings. The DNA was apparently from several different people.
The expert initially said the DNA was a mixture of at least three people and that at least two males were a part of the mixture. However, during cross-examination, the defense pointed out that the DNA mixture could have come from four or more different people.
The expert said that she tested seven items in connection to Mehiel’s death, including: two shirts, a bath towel, a water bottle, a fitted sheet, a bed sheet and the leggings.
She said the water bottle contained DNA from Mehiel’s boyfriend, who visited Mehiel days before she was killed.
Aside from the water bottle and leggings, the expert said DNA evidence found on the remaining items was “inconclusive or uninterpretable.”
The trial is scheduled to resume on Feb. 28.
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a suspect in a homicide that occurred on Jan. 8.
According to a press release, officers arrested Feb. 27 Dejuan George. George, 25, is being charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing Abdul Watts on the 5600 block of Dix Street, NE. Watts, 46, was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
A fight broke out in the hallway of a Washington, DC Courthouse on Feb. 27. Apparently, it was in reaction to the death of a 19-year-old girl.
Robert Theodore Smith is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Nya Howard-Reynolds in a townhouse on the unit block of 57th Place, SE in 2018.
Shortly after the hearing, a fight broke out between Howard-Reynolds’ family members and a man whose identity could not be confirmed before publication. The fight forced marshals to clear the vicinity at the District of Columbia Courts H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse.
During the altercation, a woman who seemed to know the victim made comments about Howard-Reynolds’ death being wrong, saying she “can’t be brought back.”
According to court documents, multiple witnesses told police that they heard a gunshot and found Howard-Reynolds lying on the floor in Smith’s bedroom. Apparently, Smith told witnesses that Howard-Reynolds shot herself.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Craig Iscoe gave the prosecution another sixty days for further investigation.
Smith, 22, is pending a grand jury. He is also scheduled to have a felony status conference on May 3.
During a status hearing Feb. 27, a judge denied a motion that would have stopped a hospital from forcibly giving a murder defendant medication.
Brandon Byrd is charged with first-degree murder while armed and carrying a dangerous weapon for his alleged role in the death of his 44-year-old father, Otis Byrd, on the 100 block of Michigan Avenue, NW in 2016.
Byrd, 23, currently resides at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, D.C.’s psychiatric hospital. He was not present for the hearing because of his attorney’s concern with his mental state.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson said she was persuaded that if Byrd was off his medication, he would harm the hospital’s staff or himself. D.C. Witness previously reported that a St. Elizabeth’s representative said Byrd was “extremely symptomatic” and “decompensating.”
The issue has been challenged by the defense before. In 2017, a motion was filed to prohibit St. Elizabeth’s from administering non-emergency medication involuntarily. The court was awaiting a ruling from the Court of Appeals before making a decision on the issue of forced medication.
During the wait the motion to prohibit St. Elizabeth’s from forcibly administering medication was resubmitted by the defense on Feb. 15.
Byrd’s defense attorney, Craig Hickein, said forcibly administering medication to a patient is unconstitutional.
Judge Dayson granted another stay, the first was enacted on Feb. 21, to prevent St. Elizabeth’s from medicating Byrd involuntarily for two weeks. The stay would give the defense time to file again with the Court of Appeals. Judge Dayson said the defense has two weeks to file. According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, a defendant’s notice of appeal must be filed within 14 days after entry of judgement.
According to court documents, an eyewitness saw Byrd hit his father in the chest multiple times in a parking garage at Washington Hospital Center. The witness didn’t see Byrd with a knife. However, police found a bloody steak knife on the scene.
Byrd is scheduled for a status hearing on March 1.
During a murder trial, a Metropolitan Police Department officer testified that he turned his body-worn camera off before interviewing a witness, despite laws prohibiting him from doing so.
El Hadji Alpha Madiou Toure is charged with first-degree murder while armed and first-degree sexual abuse, among other offenses, for his alleged role in the stabbing death of 34-year-old Corrina Mehiel on the 600 block of 14th Street, NE in 2017. According to court documents, Mehiel was found in her apartment with stab wounds that were consistent with torture.
The officer testified Feb. 26 that he turned his body worn camera off shortly after arriving on the murder scene. Footage from the camera seems to indicate that he was instructed to do so by another officer.
Another officer, who specializes in evidence collection, said he took pictures of Mehiel. The officer said he found the victim tied up and covered in clothing.He also said he found lacerations on Mehiel’s body and stains in her apartment that resembled blood.
During her cross examination, defense attorney Jacqueline Cadman questioned how evidence, including a coffee cup and electronic tablet were handled during the investigation. Apparently, the coffee cup, which was intact at Mehiel’s apartment, was broken during transport to a police station, Cadman said.
The trial is scheduled to resume on Feb. 27.
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a suspect in a murder that took place in January.
According to a press release, 22-year-old Tyree Irving was arrested Feb. 26 and charged with first-degree murder while armed (premeditated) for allegedly shooting 22-year-old Davane Williams on the 1200 Block of North Capitol Street, NW on Jan. 15. Williams died at an area hospital.
Irving was also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon for a separate offense that occurred on Feb. 18 on the 1300 block of North Capitol Street, NW.
The victim of an alleged homicide that took place on the 4700 block of 1st Street, SW has been Identified by the Metropolitan Police Department.
According to a press release, police responded Feb. 25 to reports of a shooting. Officers found 35-year-old Georgette Godman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She died on the scene.
As of Feb. 26, Godman is the 27 homicide in DC in 2019, nearly a 93 percent increase from this same time a year ago, according to D.C. Witness data.
Police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case or any other homicide in DC. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at 202-727-9099. Anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE — 50411.
During closing arguments in a murder trial, the prosecution said Feb. 26 that a defendant “confessed” to the murder of a transgender woman.
Co-defendants Monte Johnson and Jalonte Little are charged with felony murder while armed and robbery while armed, among other offenses, for their alleged involvement in the death of 22-year-old Deeniquia Dodds, also known as Gregory Dodds, on the 200 block of Division Street, NE in 2016. Brothers Cyheme and Shareem Hall are also charged with the murder.
The prosecution told the jury that Johnson, 23, confessed to his girlfriend that he is responsible for Dodds’ death.
Johnson’s defense attorney, Kevin Irving, said there is no evidence that his client was involved.
Both Cyheme, 23, and Shareem, 25, testified that Johnson shot Dodds and that Little, 28, was the getaway driver. According to the prosecution, the brothers entered plea agreements in exchange for their testimony. A plea has not been filed as of Feb. 26.
Little’s defense attorney, Brandi Harden, told the jury that her client knew nothing about the robberies or Dodds’ murder. Harden said that even though Little’s GPS monitor placed him at the scene, it doesn’t mean he was involved.
But, the prosecution said Little knew what was going on and wanted to be a part of it.
During the hearing, the defense also sought to discredit the brothers’ testimonies by saying they both previously admitted to lying to law enforcement. The defense said the brothers are only cooperating in exchange for a lighter sentence. A sentencing date has not been scheduled for the brothers.
The prosecution refuted the defense’s claim and said the Hall brothers came forward, accepted responsibility and admitted to being involved in the robberies.
The jury began deliberating on Feb. 26.
During opening arguments in a murder trial, the prosecution described the murder of a visiting artist and how she was “brutally” raped, robbed and killed. But, the defense told the jury not to let sympathy get in the way of the truth.
El Hadji Toure is charged with first-degree murder while armed, first-degree sexual abuse and robbery, among other offenses, for his alleged role in the death of 34-year-old Corrina Mehiel on the 600 block of 14th Street, NE in 2017. According to the prosecution, Mehiel’s death is being tried as an “especially heinous” crime.
The prosecution told the 16-member jury that Mehiel, a visiting artist from North Carolina, was getting ready to head home when Toure, 30, “snatched” her life away. A prosecutor said Mehiel was found face down in her bedroom, her body bound with clothes and bed sheets. He said that she was stabbed at least 39 times in the neck and multiple times in her side.
The prosecutor said that Toure’s DNA was found on some of the items that were used to bind Mehiel. He also said the defendant’s semen was found in her body.
During the hearing, the prosecution spoke about surveillance footage that showed Mehiel loading up her car just as another individual could be seen walking toward her apartment.
The prosecutor said three hours later Mehiel’s car is seen leaving the area. According to the prosecution, the defendant’s robbing spree began shortly after. Apparently, Mehiel’s bank cards were used at seven different ATMs in Maryland and Virginia. Footage from many of the ATMs show Toure withdrawing money from her account and using the correct pin number each time, the prosecution said.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department found Toure after he ditched Mehiel’s car and started using the Metro. Ultimately, they found a SmarTrip card on Toure when he was arrested.
However, defense attorney Emily Stirba said the police were “pressured” to make an arrest because it’s a high profile case. She said the detectives on the case had “tunnel vision” and failed to investigate other leads.
Stirba said the police incorrectly assumed that the same person depicted in the ATM videos was the same person responsible for Mehiel’s murder. She said the police’s theory was “nothing more than a guess, pieced together by assumptions and speculation.”
Stirba told the jury that a week prior to Mehiel’s death, there was a “strikingly similiar” assault on a woman. Apparently, the victim was bound, had something placed over her head and her assailant had a knife.
Stirba said police looked into Toure as a possible suspect in the case but later stopped when they learned he was at a shelter during the time of the offense.
“She’s a real person who deserves real justice,” Stirba said, referring to Mehiel. “ And there is no real justice in this courtroom.”
The trial is scheduled to continue on Feb. 26.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department arrested Feb. 25 a man suspected of committing a murder in 2015.
According to a press release, police arrested Joshua Artis and charged him with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting 28-year-old Ryan Matthew Addison on the 200 block of Elmira Street, SW. There has been a bench warrant out for Artis’ arrest since November 15, 2018, when he failed to attend a felony arraignment hearing connected to the case.
Artis is also charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, according to DC Courts.
In December of 2018, D.C. Witness reported that Artis, 29, is a member of the Imperial Gangsta Bloods also known as IGB, which is a criminal organization that operates in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia, amongst other states in the United States.
A grand jury indictment states that a regional IGB leader “authorized” Artis to travel from Virginia to Washington, DC to kill Addison, who they believed killed 25-year-old Rodney Davis, who was a friend of theirs. Davis was fatally shot on the Unit block of Galveston Place, SW on Aug. 11, 2015.
