David Warren was found guilty on 12 charges Wednesday, including charges of first- and second-degree murder.
The verdict was a partial one; jurors are expected to announce their decision on the charges faced by Warren’s brother, Montez Warren Thursday.
The jury found David Warren guilty of 12 of the 14 charges he faced. Warren was acquitted of the most serious charge, first-degree premeditated murder, and one other related weapons charges.
Jurors have reached a verdict in Montez Warren’s case. On Wednesday he was acquitted on 12 of the 14 charges against him. The verdict for the two remaining charges, one count of first-degree murder while armed and another related charge, will be read Thursday morning because Montez’s attorney, Madalyn Harvey, had to be excused on a personal matter. Harvey also indicated she will be arguing for a mistrial.
During trial prosecutors argued that on May 13, 2011, Ervin Lamont Griffin was dragged from his car during a robbery attempt, and when he didn’t have anything they could take, the brothers shot him in the neck. Defense attorneys say that the evidence connecting their clients is full of holes and that there are other possible suspects in Griffin’s death.
The jury has been deliberating since last Tuesday. During their deliberation they sent out two letters including one yesterday at 4:15 p.m. Judge Rhonda Winston responded to their letters and also provided them with anti-deadlock instructions Wednesday morning.
Harvey said she was concerned that because of a juror who had travel plans tomorrow, the jury’s deliberations could be affected. Judge Winston dismissed the juror before ordering the verdict be sealed Wednesday afternoon.
The rest of the jury is scheduled to appear in court Thursday at 9:45 a.m., along with Montez Warren. David Warren is scheduled for sentencing at 11:30 a.m. on June 6.
***Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of charges that David and Montez Warren faced; David faced 14 charges and Montez faced 14 charges. Jurors acquitted David of 2 charges. We regret the error.
A press release from the US Attorney’s office has been added below.
District Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Felony Murder
In 2011 Shooting in Northeast Washington
-Shooting Followed Carjacking and Robbery-WASHINGTON -David E. Warren, 27, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree felony murder while armed and other charges for the 2011 killing of a man in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
The verdicts, which were returned March 19, 2014, followed a three-week trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The jury convicted Warren of two counts of first-degree murder while armed during the commission of two separate felonies, second-degree murder while armed, kidnapping while armed, armed carjacking, armed robbery, and related weapons offenses. The Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston scheduled sentencing for June 6, 2014.
According to the government’s evidence, shortly before 11 p.m. on May 13, 2011, the victim, Ervin L. Griffin, 32, pulled his SUV into the 1200 block of 18th Street NE, shortly after meeting several young women at a nearby bus stop. While Mr. Griffin was sitting in his SUV, which was parked in the middle of the street, Warren approached and told Mr. Griffin to leave.
Eventually, Mr. Griffin pulled into an alley off of the 1200 block of 18th Street NE, where Warren entered the passenger side of Mr. Griffin’s SUV and took his keys. Warren, armed with a semi-automatic firearm, then went to the driver’s side of the SUV, pulled Mr. Griffin out, and demanded money. Warren, along with others, then walked Mr. Griffin up an alley and into a yard behind 1218 18th Place NE, where Mr. Griffin was shot and killed.
Surveillance video from the Metropolitan Police Department’s closed circuit television cameras showed the events leading up to Mr. Griffin’s murder, and showed Warren and others exiting the alley where the murder took place within a minute after the murder.
A co-defendant, Montez Warren, 32, the brother of David Warren, was acquitted by the jury of all charges. The final verdicts in his case were returned on March 20, 2014.
In announcing the conviction of David Warren, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers, and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Litigation Technology Specialists Thomas Royal, William Henderson, and Paul Howell; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; and Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Mia Beamon. Finally, he thanked former Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Michael Ortwein, who investigated and indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle D. Jackson and Holly R. Shick, who prosecuted the case.
