Two men charged with murder of Antoine McCullough plead not guilty
The two men charged with the murder of Antoine McCullough pleaded not guilty and the case against them will now head to trial.
Jerrell Powell and Jeremiah Jordan had been charged with McCullough’s death. The two men were indicted on charges of murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and unlawful possession of a firearm.
A trial date has not yet been set, though the two men are due in court for an appearance June 30.
Jasper Spires again found competent to stand trial
The man charged with the murder of Kenneth Sutherland aboard a red-line metro train on July 4 was found competent to stand trial.
According to the Washington Post, Jasper Spires was determined to be criminally responsible, as ruled by a judge last Friday.
The post reported that doctors at St. Elizabeth’s “…determined that although the suspect, Jasper Spires, may have suffered from mental illness at the time he allegedly stabbed 24-year-old Kevin Sutherland on July 4, 2015, the illness was not so severe that it should have prevented him from conforming his behavior.”
Spires, 18, was charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed Sutherland, 24. According to details of an autopsy made public in Spires’ charging documents, Sutherland suffered from dozens of stab wounds to his chest and heart, as well as other trauma.
A trial date was tentatively scheduled for next March.
Kenneth Stewart rejects plea deal, murder case heads to trial
The man charged with the murder of Eric Jackson rejected a plea deal this week, and the case will now head to a trial.
Kenneth Stewart will head to trial next March for the alleged killing of Jackson in March of 2015.
According to charging documents, Jackson was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to an area hospital where he later died. Multiple witnesses saw Stewart shot in the direction of where Jackson was found at the time of the incident. Some accounts state that two people were shooting. Stewart was seen exiting the scene in a white Dodge Charger.
Sister mourns father of two lost in shooting, but says homicide may have been ‘inevitable’
Though Tuluv Price wants the person who fatally shot her brother earlier this month to be held responsible– she also believes his tragic death was years in the making.
“It was like an inevitable fate,” Price said of the death of her 36-year-old brother Michael Dupre Price.
Price, a father of two boys, was killed in the 4600 block of Benning Rd., SE. Price remembered her brother as a guy with a “Napoleon complex” –short, but full of energy and personality.
“Anytime he walked into a room, any dead air in that room he would fill it in,” Price said. “Everyone in my family has that quality, but he had it more than anyone.”
As one of six children, Tuluv Price and her brother were raised by their grandparents.
“He couldn’t do any wrong in my grandfather’s eyes,” She said. “He was smart and witty–he could convince you of anything in an argument. You’d never know what to expect from him.”
But life wasn’t always easy for the father of two. Price’s mother was addicted to crack and a victim of domestic violence– so he and his sister were raised by their grandparents. Though Price and his siblings came from different fathers, the siblings all had a bond and found each other, remembering birthdays and getting together and catching up throughout the years.
“He wasn’t educated– his life was rough, and he was on the streets at a very young age,” Price said.”He wanted to make a change and he wanted to get out of the situation that he was in – in the hood i would say it’s difficult to get out. There are a lot of influences pulling you in a lot of different directions.”
Price was hopeful the cycle of being on the streets would end with him, his sister said, who said she’ll never forget all the boasting he did about his two sons, Michael, 16, and Carter, 2.
“He was crazy about those boys,” she said. “His sons were his prized possessions. Mikey, he’s so wonderful–and he was taller than him, and Carter is just about to start a school.”
But despite his upbringing, Price was never one to first resort to violence to settle a problem, his sister said.
“If anybody any had any problems– street-wise or any problems of any kind, or feeling worried about anything pertaining to the streets he would handle it in a very amicable way.”
Price has heard from other siblings that the person who killed her brother had pulled out a gun on him days before– but he didn’t want anything violent to happen.
She’s hopeful the person who killed her brother will be arrested and held responsible, and urged anyone with information to contact the police at their tip line at (202) 727-9099. She has also created a Go Fund Me page collecting donations for Price’s burial and help for his sons.
“He was always looking for a better solution before violence or anything else – and i’m not saying he was totally innocent– he had a temper,” she said. “But he definitely would try to seek out alternatives before anything dramatic and as a result I guess it cost him his life.”
Documents: Dejon Sutton homicide reward flier
Dejon Sutton was killed on May 10, 2017.
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Documents: Nyekemia Everett charging document
Nyekemia Everett was charged with the murder of Christopher Heard.
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Man charged with Christopher Heard’s murder
Police have charged a man with last month’s murder of Christopher Heard in Woodland Terrace.
On Friday, 31-year-old Nyekemia Everett was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed. Everett was presented in D.C. Superior Court and ordered held without bail.
On April 27, Heard was found dead from apparent gunshot wounds in the 2300 block of Ainger Place, SE, a little before 4 a.m. Previously, police asked for the public’s help in finding two people of interest wanted in connection with the shooting.
In a year when homicides decreased, vehicular deaths increased
The number of traffic-related deaths counted by the DC medical examiner increased from 45 in 2015 to 58 in 2016, all of which were classified as accidents.
However, this data is not specific to only DC, as the DC medical examiner’s office also investigates deaths for Virginia and Maryland. From 2015 to date, there have been 122 traffic-related fatalities, of which DC accounts for 57.
Data obtained from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner through a Freedom of Information request shows that of the total cases, 3 victims were cyclists, 50 were the driver of the vehicle, 19 were passengers, 47 were pedestrians and three were unknown or otherwise classified.
Because of guidelines set by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Statistics, the Metropolitan Police Department does not have to count traffic-related deaths as homicides. This increase in vehicular-related deaths was the opposite of DC’s homicide numbers which trended downward from 2015 to 2016. To date, DC Witness has been able to find out details of 48 non-homicide deaths investigated by MPD. Of the 48 deaths, 15 deaths involved a pedestrian fatality, and 21 people died in a traffic fatality. An additional 11 were killed in police involved shootings. The remaining death is still under investigation.
Thamar Bailey contributed to this report.
Clifton Johnson found guilty of murder
After days of deliberations, a jury found Clifton Johnson guilty of second-degree murder while armed, carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Johnson was found not guilty of first-degree murder. He stood trial for the shooting death of 24-year-old Dwayne Grandson last November. Grandson was found with gunshot wounds in the 2500 block of Pennsylvania Ave., SE.
According to police, both men were found suffering from gunshot wounds that night, but Johnson survived.
During the trial that started last month, Johnson’s attorney had argued his client had the gun because he was afraid of being robbed.
Johnson will be sentenced July 14.
Month in Review: Half of April’s homicides closed with arrest
Of the three homicides counted in April closed with an arrest, all of those cases were domestic in nature.
Police counted 6 homicides in April– including one in which a woman who went missing years ago was officially counted as a homicide this year.
Police arrested and charged Jose Rodriguez-Cruz for the death of his ex-girlfriend, Pamela Butler, who had gone missing years before. After 7 years, Butler’s family was able to get a death certificate, even though her body was never found.
Malcolm Cunningham was also charged with murder for the stabbing death of his grandfather, and David Blakeney Jr. was arrested and charged with his father, David Blakeney Sr.’s death.
April also saw the end to three cases: Eugene Sherman was sentenced to 20 years for the death of Matthew Shevlin. Lamar Young pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the death of Bobby Ellis. Two years after his murder, Richard Dudley’s killer, Andrew Miller, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Police are still searching for suspects for the murder of Christopher Heard, Darryl Knight and Michael Derricote.
Majority of D.C.’s homicide cases are settled with plea bargain
Of the 312 homicides since 2015, only 35 people have been sentenced– and not all for murder.
From 2015 through March 2017, 46 homicide cases have been closed: nine were dismissed, one resulted in a not-guilty verdict, and one suspect fell into a coma. The remaining 35 cases have been resolved with a plea deal– an agreement between a suspect and a prosecutor that avoids a trial and often suggests a shorter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.
On average, suspects who accept plea deals are sentenced to 13 years in jail and most often sentenced for second-degree murder while armed.
D.C. Witness has been tracking the arrests of suspects, and the cases that arise from those homicides since 2015. To date, over half of all homicide cases remain open.
Suspects are often charged with second-degree murder while armed – which is also the most common sentencing charge- though, the people initially charged with second-degree murder are not always sentenced for it.
A majority of D.C.’s homicide cases are settled with a plea bargain. Of the 35 sentenced cases, suspects often plea to a lesser charge. So while second-degree murder while armed may be a reoccurring initial and sentencing charge, the same people initially charged with it aren’t the ones always pleading guilty to it.
For instance, 23-year-old Dion Martin was initially charged with first-degree murder. Martin went to several court appearances, went before the judge and eventually was offered a plea deal by the prosecution. Martin accepted the terms of the agreement, the judge accepted the deal and as per the plea agreement Martin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed resulting in a 16 year sentence — a shortened sentence based on the downgraded charges.
Matin Flythe, 21, was charged with first-degree murder August 2015. A month into his case Flythe accepted a plea bargain outlining a lesser charge and a shortened sentence.
By the end of his case Flythe pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed and was sentenced to 13 years in prison for murdering 22-year-old Michael Toland.
In 29 of the 35 sentenced cases, suspects pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Most suspects pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed, voluntary manslaughter or voluntary manslaughter while armed charges.
As noted above the average sentence is 13 years, but there are outliers associated with that average.
Ravinel Oliver, 18, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison at the close of his case. Initially, Oliver was charged with first-degree murder while armed for the murder of Torrey Bowman. But the murder charge didn’t stick, and Oliver pleaded guilty and was sentenced for carrying a pistol without a licence, failure to register a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. The charges against another suspect, Keith Leftwich, were dropped. To date, no one has been sentenced for Bowman’s murder.
On the other side of the sentencing spectrum, 21-year-old Markell Alston was sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Alston was initially charged with second-degree murder while armed and plead guilty to the same charge. Alston is one of five cases where the charge wasn’t upgraded or downgraded.
A judge takes into account several factors when sentencing a suspect, including the defendant’s age, crime, criminal history and level of education into consideration. The average age of a suspect who has accepted a plea deal is 27.
Alston’s sentence is the highest sentence range for murder cases over the past two years. However, based on the 2016 Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines Manual, Alston’s sentence is 14 years less than the recommended minimum sentencing for a second-degree murder while armed charge. Had the case gone to trial and Alston was found guilty, he could have been sentenced to jail time between 40 years to life in prison.
Family of Michael Dupre Price mourns the father of two
The family of a man killed last Friday is trying to raise money to lay the father of two to rest.
Michael Dupre Price was fatally shot in the Marshall Heights neighborhood, and police have not yet identified a suspect.
“He was a loving father, loyal family member and possessed an all around, infectious sense of humor. Unique is an understatement when comes to explaining this young man,” Tuluv Price wrote.
Tuluv Price wrote she will never forget her brother’s praise of how his sons were doing.
“I still remember the voice of dignity he spoke with when telling me his oldest son was on honor roll and an ‘all around athlete’ playing baseball football, soccer and basketball. He was so in love with and optimist about his youngest son’s future, especially the hope of him starting school soon,” Price wrote. “These are the things that are breaking my heart. I always wonder if murderers knew that their victims were just normal everyday people trying to make it home just like them, would they still kill and want to murder?”
As of Friday afternoon, the GoFundMe has raised $620 of a $3,000 goal.
Two people shot, one fatally, Wednesday night
Police say a 24-year-old man was killed Wednesday night.
Dejon Charles Sutton was found in the 6100 block of Banks Place, NE a little before 9 p.m. Sutton was found in a wooded area, suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound. Sutton was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
While on the scene, police found a second victim suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, who was taken to the hospital, treated and released.
Police have not yet released any suspect information.
Man who killed another after a fight pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter
The man charged with the fatal stabbing of Keon Parker last August pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal.
George Joyner is expected to be sentenced June 2. Both sides in the case agreed to a recommended sentence of 11 years, which will have to be approved by a judge in June.
According to charging documents, Joyner and Parker were engaged in a physical altercation on August 8. Joyner told detectives that he and Parker knew each other, and the fight began when Parker “approached bumped him.” Joyner also told police Parker told Joyner he was going to rob him.
Police were able to find Joyner after following a trail of blood to a shelter near the intersection of 2nd and E Streets, NW. Joyner suffered a cut to his arm during the fight. Parker was killed by stabs to his stomach.