Donte Graves Reportedly One of Group of Juveniles that Killed Attorney in 2008

Donte Graves, held on suspicion of fatally shooting 21-year-old Tyrone Joyner near Nationals Park last month, was one of three teens who killed a D.C. attorney in 2008, WJLA reports.

The station, citing multiple anonymous sources, says Graves was arrested for killing attorney Mark Blank, 56, in Southwest D.C. in 2008.

The station reports:

In October of 2008, D.C. police say Blank was walking home on 6th Street near the Southwest Waterfront carrying groceries when three teenagers, ages 13, 14, and 15 robbed him and beat him. Blank’s injuries were so severe he died 10 days later.

Because Graves reportedly was 14 at the time of the earlier murder, any proceedings involving him are sealed juvenile records. It’s also difficult to verify what sentence Graves would have received for the earlier crime.

The Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services declined to comment to the station.

Graves “started popping up during ABC7’s search of court records in 2012,” the station reported.

Those searches are of adult court records, and contain only nonviolent offenses.

Graves pled guilty to one count of unlawful entry and contempt in June 2012; as a condition of his plea, prosecutors dropped unlawful entry charges against him in a different case. Graves was sentenced to 1 year of probation. A third unlawful entry case against Graves was also dropped.

Graves also appeared in Traffic Court, where he pled guilty to fleeing the scene of an accident.

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