After requesting the public’s assistance in locating murder suspect Alonzo Lewis, the Metropolitan Police Department arrested him on May 31; two days after the public request.
Lewis, 33, allegedly shot Jaquon Helm, 40, and Venius Badgett, 35, on the unit block of Galveston Street, SW inside the Gardens Apartments’ parking lot on May 26. Lewis is charged with two counts of first-degree murder while armed.
According to the Washington Post, the couple had been married for six years. They had five children who were not hurt during the incident.
Even after being convicted of first-degree murder for shooting three people in 1991, Benito Valdez continued to claim his innocence during his sentencing hearing on May 25.
Valdez, who is classified as being Hispanic, was sentenced to 94 years to life in prison for
Keith Simmons
shooting Samantha Gillard, Curtis Pixley and Keith Simmons on the 1800 block of Franklin Street, NE in Langdon Park. According to awitness, the three victims were shot “execution-style”. Valdez was also found guilty of kidnapping and sodomy.
“I didn’t do it,” Valdez, 47, said, ignoring advice from his lawyer to keep quiet. “There’s a lot of things you didn’t get to hear… During trial, I actually wanted to take the stand… They said no one would believe that I wasn’t that kind of person.”
Samantha Gillard
During the sentencing, Valdez’s mother cried out in agony. However, the pain she felt was not the only pain present in the courtroom.
“My mother ate, slept and breathed Sam,” Gillard’s sister said. She “grieved herself to death because she thought it was something she did or didn’t do.”
Sandra Pixley, Curtis’ older sister, told the judge that she did not want to see
Curtis Pixley
Valdez spend the rest of his life in prison, but she also said he did not seem remorseful.
“I think he’s a sociopath,” Sandra told D.C. Witness after the sentencing. “I watched him during trial… Justice did prevail.”
Valdez’s sentence was imposed but due to errors with the pre-sentence report, another sentencing is scheduled for June 22 to correct them.
On May 24, a defense attorney requested the grand jury transcript from a 2014 homicide that could be related to his client’s murder case. The request was denied.
Paul Swann, and Traveous Lamont Brown are charged with allegedly shooting Adam Edwin Barker in 2016. Swann is charged with second-degree murder while armed and Brown is charged with first-degree murder while armed.
Mani Golzari, Swann’s defense attorney, said he requested grand jury transcripts for Denzel Grandson, who is charged with allegedly shooting Barker’s uncle, Simwone K. Milstead, because the prosecution did not give him information on whether Barker was violent and had access to firearms. Both Barker and Milstead died on the 2700 block of Langston Place, SE.
“It’s a word of mouth system… We can’t operate Brady on a system where you just pass people in the halls,” Golzari said. “You have to have a system in place to share this information.” Brady requires the prosecution to disclose all information that could be favorable to the defense, according to the Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia.
The prosecutor said he could not turn over the entire grand jury transcript, but he would be willing to share portions of it.
“I can’t agree to turn over an entire case file in another case,” said the prosecutor. “If Mr. Golzari is right, we’d have to turn in anything related to any homicide in this city.” The prosecutor said the defense already received materials that could be favorable to the defendants, such as cell phone tower information and fingerprint evidence.
Even though DC Superior Court Judge Ronna L. Beck said she would not order the release of the transcript, she said judges were concerned about defense attorneys not receiving information from the prosecution.
“In our view, some of the government aren’t on the right page as to what the obligation is here,” Judge Beck said.
Swann and Brown are scheduled for a trial readiness hearing on June 13.
During a motions hearing, the prosecution said it would offer a murder defendant another opportunity to accept a plea deal.
Leon Stewart, 26, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Darnell Lee Richardson, 29, in March of 2016 on Interstate 295. According to court documents, the shooting occurred on the 3400 block of Benning Road, NE near the Pepco Benning Road Plant.
The defendant decided May 29 to reject the prosecution’s initial plea offer. However, the prosecutor said he would have another plea deal ready for an evidentiary hearing scheduled on June 22.
In preparation for the evidentiary hearing, DC Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff said she would listen to and watch audio recordings and videos from a visitation Stewart had while in jail.
In September of 2016, Stewart received a call in jail that supposedly connected him to the death of a witness in the homicide case.
The Metropolitan Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in locating 16-year-old Daquan Gray.
Gray is currently wanted on a DC Superior Court arrest warrant for first-degree murder while armed. He allegedly shot 15-year-old Jaylyn Wheeler on the 600 block of Alabama Avenue, SE on May 16.
Gray is described as being a 16-year-old black male, who is 5 feet 6 inches tall, 120 pounds, with dark brown eyes and black hair.
A reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
The Metropolitan Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in locating 33-year-old Alonzo Lewis.
Lewis is wanted on a DC Superior Court arrest warrant for first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting Jaquon Helm, 40, and Venius Badgett, 35, on the unit block of Galveston Street, SW on May 26.
Lewis is described as being a black man, who is 5 feet 7 inches tall, 180 pounds, with dark brown eyes and twists in his hair. Police said Lewis is considered armed and dangerous.
A reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this homicide or any other homicide in DC.
The sentencing for Thomas Joyner became unruly May 25 as the decedent’s family expressed their agitation.
The family of Joe Cook, who was fatally shot by Joyner in 2016, yelled and cursed as they gave their statements of impact to District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson. Joyner, 28, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Jan. 7, 2017.
Tonetta Cook, the decedent’s older sister, repeatedly addressed Joyner during the sentencing process.
“Look at me, I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you’re sorry,” the sister said during her statement. “This was premeditated; you emptied two clips in my brother. Sixteen shots for what?”
Tonetta was eventually asked to leave the courtroom after she continuously interrupted Joyner during his statement to the judge.
Joyner, who said he was allegedly high on PCP and marijuana, asked Cook’s family for forgiveness.
“I admit this wasn’t self defense and I acted out of fear in a drug induced state,” Joyner said. “I am not the same man today I was then.”
Judge Dayson sentenced Joyner to 16 years in prison with an additional five years of supervised release. He is also
required to register as a gun offender after his prison term.
The sentence will be imposed at a later date because Joyner has a civil matter that needs to be resolved in Maryland.
A pedestrian was hit May 27 while crossing Suitland Parkway and was struck by a vehicle traveling in the westbound lane of the Parkway. As of May 28, the decedent has not been identified.
Defense counsel said they will need time to review mental health records to determine the kinds of experts they would need to call. The defense also said they would need to determine the availability of experts.
According to documents, the Metropolitan Police Department reported that Turner and Welch had an ongoing feud. A witness reported to have seen Brown shoot Welch.
Surveillance footage shows a woman, who looks similar to Turner, waiting in the driver’s seat of a nearby car during the incident. Turner and Brown were said to be romantically involved at the time of the shooting.
Before Turner was charged, she apparently tried to bribe witnesses with crack so they wouldn’t cooperate with the homicide investigation.
Brown pled not guilty to the murder and is being held without bail. Despite being charged with the same crime, Turner was released under the High Intensity Supervision Program.
Another trial readiness hearing scheduled on May 31 with DC Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna. The trial is currently scheduled for June 4.
The passenger in this 2017 traffic collision died. The driver is being charged with second-degree murder.
During his arraignment, a man pled not guilty to second-degree murder for allegedly killing a woman when he drove into a Hess gas station pole while under the influence.
Lavonne Beckett allegedly told police that he smoked a PCP-laced cigarette on August 5, 2017, during a stop in Maryland. His car later hit a pole on the 600 block of Florida Ave., NE.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, a bystander pulled Beckett out of his car, which caught on fire. Fire crews also activated an emergency fuel cutoff to secure the scene. His passenger, Tanisha Ray, age unknown, died at the scene.
He is currently released through the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP). Beckett was placed on HISP in January.
The prosecution said they planned to submit a plea offer that would allow Beckett to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
Beckett’s defense attorney, Craig Hickein, requested Beckett’s next status hearing be held in four weeks. Hickein said he needed more time to review discovery materials provided by the prosecution.
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested 18 year-old Kurt Hewitt and 16 year-old Demonte Hewitt, charging them with the death of 16 year-old Tyshon Perry.
According to police, the suspects are cousins. Both have been charged with second-degree murder while armed. Both teens will be charged as adults.
Perry was allegedly stabbed in an after school fight on May 1 on the 1300 block of 2nd Street, NE, located near the NOMA-Gallaudet metro station. Apparently the fight was sparked from an earlier incident at KIPP DC College Preparatory, a charter high school in Northeast DC.
According to news reports, Perry attended KIPP, but his assailants did not. The fight occurred near the metro station, which was less than a mile from the school.
A video from the press conference can be seen, here.
The prosecution in a murder trial requested the defendant undergo DNA testing. A test was not administered during his arrest.
The defendant, Matthew Moore, is accused of first-degree murder for allegedly shooting Ronnell Reaves. Reaves, 22, was found, by officers from the Metropolitan Police Department, with a bullet wound to the head. Apparently, Reaves was sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2015 Kia Optima on the 600 block of 14th Place, NE. Another person, who was seated in the car’s passenger seat, was also shot. The passenger survived.
Moore, 33, initially claimed that he shot Reaves in self defense after Reaves attempted to coerce him into robbing a restaurant. But, surveillance footage of the incident contradicts Moore’s version of the events that happened between the two that night, the prosecution said.
Moore was arrested in Forestville, Md. on Jan. 26, 2017. He was apparently staying with his sister.
Detectives recovered a semi-automatic handgun and Smith & Wesson cartridges at Moore’s sister’s apartment. The cartridges match the shell casings found at the scene of the murder.
