Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department found April 28 Isaiah Harris, 23, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds on the 700 block of Gresham Place, NW, which is a residential block near Howard University.
He was pronounced dead at an area hospital. Police are currently investigating the homicide. A reward is being offered.
The Metropolitan Police Department discovered the bodies of 23 year-old Dalonte Wilson, a resident of Northeast, D.C., and 44 year-old Antone Brown, a resident of Capitol Heights, Md., with apparent gunshot wounds at a residence on the 400 block of 61st Street, NE. Police are currently investigating the homicides and are offering up to a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and a conviction in any homicide in D.C.
For news on other homicides in D.C., please click here.
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested April 25 Keith Sweptson in connection with the homicide of 33-year-old Yusef Turner on the 3500 block of Georgia Avenue, NW on April 5. Sweptson, 29, is charged with first-degree murder (premeditated).
On the second day of a 2016 murder trial, the decedent’s 13-year-ol daughter testified that she was sure Hairston killed her mother.
The daughter, who was 11 at the time, told the jury that she was 100 percent certain that she saw Donald Hairston pass in front of her door after allegedly killing her mother. The daughter is the only eyewitness in the case.
Hairston, 51, is charged with first-degree murder for the alleged shooting death of Stephanie Goodloe on June 18, 2016, at her home located on the 700 block of Kentucky Avenue, SE. Apparently, a motive for the killing was the fact that Hairston couldn’t control Goodloe, according to the prosecution.
During her testimony, the daughter, who was asleep in the bedroom next to her mother’s, told the jury that she was wakened by shooting noises and her mother’s screams. She said that while she lay in her bed, peaking out from the covers, she saw Hairston pass-by. “I was scared,” she said.
The girl said she believed she didn’t move for about 10 minutes because she was afraid Hairston was going to come back and kill her.
She said she recognized Hairston even though he was wearing a hoodie. She said she could see the left side of his face and noticed Hairston’s tall and wide build. She also told the jury that Hairston stopped in front of her bedroom door.
“I closed my eyes because I thought I was dreaming and when I opened them he was gone,” the daughter told an aide who works with children involved in traumatic events. According to the daughter, the shooter did not use the front door because she did not hear it open or close. The house contained three doors: a front door, back door and basement door.
However, the defense poked holes in the daughter’s testimony, questioning whether she actually saw Hairston pass in front of her door, referencing the 911 call when the daughter said, “I think it might have been my stepfather. I didn’t see anything.”
The defense also questioned the daughter’s testimony since she told the jury the murderer was wearing a gray sweatshirt and pants, but later said she didn’t actually see if he was wearing sweat pants or shorts. The defense pointed out that the daughter was most accustomed to seeing Hairston in sweat pants.
Defense attorney Lauren Johnson questioned whether the daughter was trying to make Hairston seem guilty because he moved on to caring for another family and another little girl. The daughter acknowledged that she felt jealous Hairston wasn’t paying her as much attention as he did before he started dating another woman who had a little girl.
Hairston was Abusive
According to the daughter, towards the end of Hairston and her mother’s relationship they began to argue a lot. The daughter said Hairston would threaten her mother. She also said she was sent to her room sometimes when they began arguing, but at other times left the house with her aunt.
In addition to the daughter’s testimony, a longtime friend of Goodloe testified that Hairston was physically and emotionally abusive in the months leading up to Goodloe’s death.
According to the witness, Goodloe kicked Hairston, who was 49 at the time, out of her home after the two broke up because Hairston was dating other women. Hairston stalked and harassed Goodloe, the friend said.
Johnson cited an occasion where Hairston showed up at Goodloe’s work, asking why she hadn’t answered his calls. When Goodloe explained she couldn’t answer her phone on the job, Hairston allegedly pushed her to the ground and spit in her face.
Then, about a month before the murder, Johnson said Goodloe called her after Hairston showed up at her home and asked “where the f*** have you been.” He allegedly banged on her door for several hours. The following morning, Goodloe’s tires had been slashed.
Goodloe filed a restraining order against Hairston after the incident.
Johnson is expected to be cross-examined by the defense on April 25.
Owen Meech contributed to this article
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested April 23 Jerome Wilson for the fatal shooting of 48-year-old Sean Anderson on the 2300 Block of Good Hope Road, SE. Wilson, 35, is charged with second-degree murder while armed.
The Metropolitan Police Department is requesting the public’s help in locating 17-year-old Kaevon Sutton. Sutton is currently wanted on a DC Superior Court arrest warrant for first-degree murder while armed in the fatal shooting of Aujee Tyler on 3500 block of Stanton Road, SE on March 19.
A 2016 murder trial recently began with the prosecution’s admission that forensic evidence would not be provided.
Donald Hairstonis charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Goodloe, while she slept in her bed at her home located on the 700 block of Kentucky Avenue, SE.
The prosecution said that even though they believed they had a strong case against Hairston, who was 49 at the time, they were not going to be able to provide finger prints, bullet shell casings, cellular location tracking or DNA evidence.
Instead, the prosecution opened April 23 with the victim’s 11-year-old daughter’s 911 call. The daughter told the operator, in a frantic voice, that she believed the man who shot her mother was her stepdad.
The daughter said she heard her mother screaming and loud bangs. She said she saw a man wearing a hoodie, who she believed was her stepfather, walk out of her mother’s room , passing her’s as he exited the house.
The prosecution is expected to present around 40 witnesses, including experts, Metropolitan Police Department employees, and Goodloe’s family and friends. The prosecution said they will also present recordings, text messages, emails and phone calls made by Hairston to show guilt.
Apparently, Hairston had been harassing Goodloe, 40, and her child after the two parted ways. Goodloe filed a restraining order against Hairston days before the shooting because he allegedly slashed her tires and stole her keys.
According to the prosecution, one of the motives was that Hairston wished ill-will on Goodloe because he couldn’t control her.
“All she wanted was freedom,” the prosecution told the jury.
During the defense’s opening statement, attorney Lauren Johnson pointed out that the daughter couldn’t be sure it was her stepfather who shot her mother.
“The government has it wrong,” Johnson told the jury.
The defense pointed toward the absurdity of Hairston killing Goodloe feet away from her daughter, who he also claimed as his own. Hairston had been in the girl’s life since she was a toddler and continued to care for her after he and Goodloe ended their relationship.
“He did not do it,” Johnson said. “Convicting an innocent man for a terrible crime who did not commit it will not undo the tragedy, but add to a terrible injustice.”
The defense said the police failed to investigate properly, pointing out that a woman who made $30,000 on Goodloe’s death was not investigated.
Even though defense attorney Mani Golzari has made several motions to dismiss the case, continuously saying that it has been conducted in bad faith, Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson has denied the requests.
The prosecution is expected to continue arguments on April 24.
The Metropolitan Police Department is trying to identify a suspect, caught on a nearby surveillance camera, in the fatal stabbing of Maria Antoinette Evans on the 500 Block of Oakwood Street, SE on March 29.
John Henry Pelham recently dies from injuries he received from a traffic incident on April 13 at the intersection of 7th Street and Missouri Avenue, NW. The Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating the incident.
The Metropolitan Police Department have identified Rory Felton, 57, a resident of Temple Hills, Md. as the victim of a fatal stabbing on the Unit Block of Forrester Street, SW. According to news reports, Felton was a Go-Go music legend in the D.C. area.
Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna recently sentenced a man who fatally stabbed his ex-girlfriend to 22 years in prison.
In January, Larry Fearn pled guilty to second-degree murder while armed for killing Paula Renee Coles on Sept. 27, 2017. Following the sentence, Fearn will be placed on five years of supervised release.
Fearn and Coles had an 11-month-old son. Apparently, Coles was holding the baby when she was stabbed at her home located on the 3000 Block of 30th St., SE.
The homicide was not the first time Fearn had assaulted Coles.
On July 5, 2017, Fearn was arrested for assaulting Coles, their infant child, and his mother. The following day, Fearn was arrested for violating a court order to stay away from Coles.
Fearn also pled guilty on Aug. 17, 2017, to attempted second-degree cruelty to children and simple assault and served 75 days in prison. Even though it was a probation violation for him to see or be near Coles after his release, he began residing with her shortly after.
The man who allegedly killed a baby boy was charged April 19 with first-degree and second-degree murder with an intent to kill.
The incident took place on the 3400 block of A Street in SE. Two-year-old Aceyson Aizim Ahmad was apparently the son of James Embre‘s girlfriend.
According to the D.C. Medical Examiner, Ahmad died from multiple blunt force trauma. According to court documents, Embre may have assaulted Ahmad in the past. Court documents said Embre apparently abused the boy’s sister as well.
Jason Embre is being held without bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 24.
During closing arguments April 18 counsel rehashed facts presented during a 2015 murder trial to outweigh the other side.
Eric McDuffie is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting 23-year-old Antonio McCallister. McCallister allegedly died in front of his mother on the 2700 block of Langston Place, SE.
The prosecution said McDuffie waited for McCallister to let his guard down and followed him before shooting him in the back of the head.
Additionally, the prosecution cited McCallister’s mother, who said she was outside on a friend’s porch, when she saw her son fall over and McDuffie fleeing the scene.
“This man intended to kill Antonio McCallister,” the prosecution said. “Use your judgment and find him guilty.”
The prosecution replayed camera footage from Metropolitan Police Department officers. The footage shows the mother telling officers, “He came from over there, the white car,” referring to McDuffie.
The defense argued that the police and the prosecution mishandled the case because a motive to suspect McDuffie was never provided.
McDuffie’s attorney, Russell Hairston, said the investigation was not thorough because Officer Latonya Elliott, who works in the school safety division, told investigators that a juvenile told her about a different suspect. A follow-up was not documented.
The defense also noted that McCallister’s mother admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking PCP, a hallucinatory drug, on the night of the shooting. She also waited three days before speaking with police about the incident.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations on April 19.
On April 17, the Metropolitan Police Department arrested 24 year-old James Embre for the homicide of 2-year-old Aceyson Aizim Ahmad. Embre has been charged with first-degree felony murder.
The D.C. Witness infographic shows the number of women killed in D.C. from 2016-Febuary 2018.
