Homicide Watch D.C.

In brief:

Two homicides were reported in D.C. this week:

• A shooting in the 2500 Block of Sayles Place, Southeast killed 23-year-old Demencio Lewis Thursday night.
• A shooting Saturday evening near the intersection of East Capitol Street and Benning Road Northeast killed 20-year-old Kevin Marzell Leonard.

Corey Saxton was arrested in connection with the shooting death of Roshaine Henry, who was found inside a crashed car suffering from a gunshot wound. Saxton was ordered held Tuesday on suspicion of second-degree murder.

Jurors began deliberating Tuesday in the murder case charging brothers David and Montez Warren with the May 2011 shooting death of Ervin Lamont Griffin. Prosecutors say Griffin was shot when he didn’t have anything to provide in a robbery.

Marvin Moore was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the stabbing death of his friend, Timothy Benjamin, in September 2013. Though Moore previously stated his intent to withdraw his guilty plea, Moore told the court he was ready to be sentenced on Friday.

Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush were each sentenced to over sixty years in prison for the 2011 Caribbean festival shooting that killed Robert Foster Jr. and injured two others.

The retrial of James Sandidge began this week with opening statements. Sandidge, 22, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 20-year-old Keenan Jerel Lee. During Sandidge’s first trial, jurors failed to reach a verdict.

Kevin Walker pleaded innocent to two counts of first degree murder, two counts of possession of a firearm and one count of carrying a pistol without a license in connection with the shooting death of siblings, Jamie Jenkins, 28, and Jamahl Jenkins, 21 in July 2013.

Rasdavid Lagarde decided to give up his right to a preliminary hearing in court on Friday. Prosecutors say Lagarde was the person who fatally shot Howard University student Omar Sykes last July. Lagarde will remain held in connection with the case.

Howard Randolph was removed from a halfway house after he was found with two packs of K2, a synthetic cannabis, while he awaited trial. Randolph, 25, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of 21-year-old Rayshawn Hailstock in June 2013.

In brief:

One person in D.C. died this week in what has been ruled a homicide:

• Roshaine Henry, 24, was found shot in an overturned car in Northwest DC died as a result of his injuries. According to MPD, the shooting occurred in the 1200 block of Madison Street Northwest and the vehicle was found in the 900 block of Madison Street Northwest.

Kevin Brown was released from jail after prosecutors dropped a murder charge in connection with the shooting of 19-year-old James Edward Dean in Feb. 2013. Brown, 31, was held for nine months on a second-degree murder charge.

Cydrisse Alvin was sentenced to 35 years in prison for first-degree murder while armed in connection to the stabbing death of Kent in June 2012. Jurors found Alvin guilty in December 2013 of the stabbing death of her best friend, Amber Lynette Kent.

Defense attorneys argued in closing arguments that unreliable testimony and poorly collected forensic evidence shows that Keir Johnson and Lester Williams are not responsible for the September 2010 shooting death of Jamal Coates. Judge Lynn Leibovitz will instruct jurors next week before deliberations begin.

Jibril Abdul-Muwwakil was held on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the Feb. 27 stabbing death of 17-year-old Jonathon Adams. Charging documents say that Abdul-Muwwakil was described as schizophrenic and bipolar.

In brief:

Nine people died in DC homicides this week.

• Calvin Short died Sunday afternoon after he was found shot in the 400 block of Florida Avenue Northeast at approximately 3:30 a.m. No suspects have been arrested in connection with his death.
• A shooting in the 1300 block of Alabama Avenue, Southeast killed 18-year-old Marquette Hooks and injured another man on Sunday evening, according to MPD. Both men were taken to a local hospital; Hooks later died from his injuries.
• Jonathon Adams was found stabbed in the 4300 block of Halley Terrace, Southeast around 5 p.m. on Thursday. He was taken to a local hospital where he died later that day. On Friday, Jibril Abdul-Muwwakil was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder while armed in connection with the case.
• Tykia Dickerson was found less than 4 hours after Adams, shot in the 3600 block of Jay Street, Northeast.
• Brothers Khalid Jamal Bryant, 34, and Jason Emmanuel Bryant, 26. were fatally shot outside a church in Northeast DC, about a mile and a half from where Dickerson was killed.
• Billy Andre Harris was found fatally shot at about 3 a.m. Saturday in the 4800 block of 9th St Northwest.
• Police found 46-year-old Andre McIntyre of Northwest DC suffering from head trauma just after midnight Saturday morning. He died at a local hospital.
• The death of Earnest Jerome McWilliams, 33, was declared a homicide after he died February 22. McWilliams was found shot at about 2 a.m. on January 21 in the 4500 block of Benning Road.

Jashua Johnson was acquitted of all charges in connection with the July 2012 shooting death of 22-year-old Davon Brown. Jurors deliberated for less than four hours before delivering their verdict.

Lamonte Hill pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the June 2012 stabbing and shooting death of Brian Bloomfield. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped initial charges of second-degree murder while armed and a related weapons offense.

Sosefina Amoa pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of her newborn child.

Prosecutors rested their case in the trial charging David and Montez Warren with the May 2011 shooting death of Ervin Lamont Griffin. The defense is expected to begin presenting its case next week.

The government finished its closing arguments in the case charging Keir Johnson and Lester Williams with the shooting death of 21-year-old Jamal Coates.

Erik Postell pleaded innocent to the shooting death of Paul Aime Tanoh Danzo. Michael Smith was also arrested in connection with Danzo’s death but has since pleaded guilty.

In brief:
Detra Martin, 48, was killed Thursday night in an residence in Southeast DC. Police say Martin died of stragulation and her death was ruled a homicide on Friday.

Jurors heard opening arguments in the trial charging David and Montez Warren with the May 2011 shooting death of Ervin Lamont Griffin.

The murder trial against Jashua Johnson began Wednesday with Judge Robert Morin. Johnson, 20, is charged with first degree murder and several assault and weapons offenses in connection with the death of 22-year-old Davon Brown. Prosecutors allege that Brown was an innocent bystander the night that he was killed.

The government rested its case in the trial charging Keir Johnson and Lester Williams with the shooting death of 21-year-old Jamal Coates. Defense attorneys for Johnson and Williams have begun presenting evidence on behalf of their clients.

Jamar George pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed in connection with the connection to the murder of 20-year-old Ronnie Speight Jr. George is scheduled for sentencing on April 25.

Grant Johnson was sentenced to 49 years in prison after being convicted of first-degree premeditated murder while armed, second-degree murder while armed, armed robbery and related weapons offenses in connection with the shooting death of Ricardo Mandrell Lancaster. Johnson has said that he intends to file an appeal of his conviction.

Jeffrey Mills was sentenced to 18 years in prison in connection with the beating death of Juan Antonio Paredes on January 15, 2012. At the sentencing hearing, Mills gave his condolences to Paredes’ crying mother and said he was acting in self-defense.

Anthony Campbell and Phillip Glover pleaded innocent to charges in connection with the death of Antwain Henderson. Campbell is charged with first-degree murder and remains held. Glover is charged with accessory after the fact in Henderson’s death and tampering with evidence. He remains on supervised release.

In brief:

There were no murders in DC this week.

Tsihnik Cavallero, a 28-year-old Southeast DC man, was arrested Monday in connection with the shooting death of Marcus Minor last month. He was ordered held on Wednesday.

A witness believed to have been killed in connection with the murder trial of David and Montez Warren was identified as Ronald Smith. The trial is scheduled to begin opening arguments Tuesday.

Ercell Overton pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two related assault counts in connection with the shooting death of Solomon James Okoroh. Overton signed an Alford plea agreement, which means that he accepts punishment without asserting guilt. Prosecutors will request that Overton receive a sentence of 25 to 28 years in prison.

A judge found probable cause for a charge of second-degree murder in the case against 41-year-old Robert Osborne. Osborne has been ordered into high intensity supervision while a grand jury investigates the murder of 20-year-old Vincent Purvis.

According to court records, Joshua Mebane, 17, intends to pursue an insanity defense in the connection with the 2012 shooting death of DC cab driver Quadar Muhammad, 44. Mebane has been sent to St. Elizabeths Hospital for a mental health examination.

The trial of alleged gang members Keir Johnson, Lester Williams, Robert Givens and Marcellus Jackson continued this week. Jurors have heard arguments for over four months now.

Stephanie Lawson, 44, pleaded guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of 49-year-old Karen Jordan on August 27, 2011. Lawson faces up to 30 years in prison. She was initially charged with first-degree murder.

Michael Davis‘s defense attorneys argued that Davis can not participate fully in his defense and should perhaps be again ruled mentally incompetent. Davis is charged with two counts of assault and one count of first-degree murder in connection with five hammer assaults, including one which killed 66-year-old Denver nurse Gary Dederichs.

In brief:

Elvin Jessie Johnson, a 32-year-old Northeast DC man, died after being shot late Tuesday night in Northeast DC.

David Washington, a 24-year-old Southeast DC man was arrested in connection with the shooting death of Deangelo Gatling last month. He is suspected of first-degree murder while armed.

Peter Hendy was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the death of his girlfriend’s son, four-year-old Kamari Zavon Taylor.

Probable cause was found in the case against Dion Redwood, suspected of participating in the 2013 shooting death of 16-year-old Darius Cannon.

William Hunt was ordered held in connection with the May 2011 stabbing death of 48-year-old George White. Police say White was stabbed 59 times during an argument over a lawnmower.

The trial of alleged gang members Keir Johnson, Lester Williams, Robert Givens and Marcellus Jackson continued this week. Over the past two weeks a former gang member has detailed the relationships — and beefs — that brought two neighborhood groups together and broke them apart.

Gary Montgomery was found mentally competent Friday to stand trial for the death of transgender woman Deoni Jones. Montgomery is charged with first-degree murder.

In brief:

Two people were killed this week in DC:

• Ervin Phillip Ingraham, 21, and Ronnetta Hurley-Brown, 21, died Thursday night after being shot in a rowhouse in the 1600 block of 17th Street, Southeast. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Two toddlers were found unharmed in the home.

Their deaths brought January’s homicide count to 13, well ahead of last year’s six.

A judge found Lillian Alvarado incompetent to stand trial for the death of her newborn son after an initial mental competency hearing Wednesday. Alvarado, 21, will be held at St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital

Robert Osborne was ordered held pending a preliminary hearing next month. Police say he killed Vincent Purvis was gunned down in broad daylight during a drive-by shooting on Yuma Street Southeast. Osborne, 41, is paralyzed from the chest down and attended a presentment Monday in a wheelchair.

Bernard Fleming pleaded innocent to a 12-count indictment charging him with the 2012 shooting death of 30-year-old Michael Edward Jones.

A preliminary hearing began in the case against Dion Redwood, 39, suspected of first-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Darius Cannon. The hearing is scheduled to continue Monday.

A grand jury charged Jermaine Livingston, suspected in the 2011 shooting death of 34-year-old Antwain Henderson, with being an accessory after the fact in Henderson’s death and tampering with evidence. Livingston, 41, pleaded innocent to both charges. He was arrested in May 2013 on a charge of second-degree murder but has not been charged with that crime.

Richard Williams was sentenced to 35 years in prison in connection with the stabbing death of Sean West in 2010.

William Sony Hunt, 57, was arrested in Yonkers, New York in connection with the 2011 stabbing death of 48-year-old George White. Police said he is suspected of second-degree murder while armed in connection with the case.

In brief:

Six people were killed in DC this week and the deaths of two newborns were ruled homicides.

• In Georgetown, Leroi Elliott, 88, and his wife, were stabbed by their 56-year-old son, Bradford Nelson Elliott. Lerio Elliott died if his injuries; his wife survived. Bradford Elliott was taken into custody on suspicion of first-degree murder while armed. He died of a heart attack while being treated for a cut to his hand.
• In Pleasant Plains, two people, 36-year-old Oluremi Thomas and 24-year-old Keyonna Proctor, were found shot to death. In a listserv message, Councilmember Jim Graham wrote that the deaths of Thomas and Proctor could be drug-related and that “there may also be a suggestion of an execution style killing.” Graham also says that neither victim lived in the apartment.
• A few blocks from the Anacostia Metro station, 19-year-old Devon Dominique Parker was shot. He was taken with multiple gunshot wounds to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
• In Kenilworth, George Edward Hartzog was found shot Friday morning. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
• In Barry Farm, 21-year-old Marcus Minor of Northeast DC was shot Friday afternoon. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
• The September death of a newborn baby in Southeast DC was ruled a homicide and the child’s mother, 31-year-old Tisheena Brown, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder. Police say the baby, identified as one-month old Hakeem Brown, was pronounced dead after being found unconscious and not breathing early in the morning of September 1. He died of a prescription drug overdose.
• The November death of another newborn was also ruled a homicide and that child’s mother was also arrested. The baby was believed to have been not even a day old when he was found dead in bathtub. The mother, Lillian Alvarado, is suspected of felony murder and cruelty to children. A mental health exam was ordered in the case.

Robert Osborne, 41, was arrested in connection with the shooting death of 20-year-old Vincent Purvis. He’s suspected of second-degree murder.

A judge found probable cause for a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the case against Corey Stoddard; Stoddard is accused of hitting Kevin Lewis Crouch with his tow truck, killing him.

Arvel Wills was sentenced to four years in prison in connection with the death of his 25-year-old cousin, Dewayne Wills. “What I did was wrong. It was an accident,” Arvel Wills said at sentencing. “We were like brothers. I love my cousin. I’d never hurt my cousin at all.”

DeAndre Shaheed, Lafeyette Robinson and Floyd Neal were arraigned Friday on charges of first-degree felony murder while armed, conspiracy, robbery, and other related weapons offenses in connection with the March 2013 shooting death of 31-year-old Akinwole Olu Williams. The three men pleaded innocent to all charges.

Joseph Peoples pleaded innocent to charges from a 12-count indictment charging him and a co-defendant, Bernard Fleming, with the 2012 shooting death of 30-year-old Michael Edward Jones.

Michael Anthony Coleman, 36, was ordered held on a charge of second-degree murder. Prosecutors say he fatally stabbed Candance Reed on November 15, 2013. At the preliminary hearing Coleman’s attorney, Nikki Lotz, said Coleman’s actions were in self-defense but Judge Jennifer Anderson called Coleman the first aggressor.

In brief:

Three people were killed in DC this week:

• Deangelo Gatling, 18, was killed last Sunday afternoon in a shooing in the 2300 block of 24th Street Southeast.
• Vincent Purvis, 20, was fatally shot on Wednesday afternoon, near the closed Ferebee-Hope Elementary School campus.
• Kevin Lanard James, 48, of Northwest DC, was killed in a shooting in the 1500 block of Gallatin Place Northeast Thursday evening.

Anthony Gray, 35, of Southeast DC was arrested Tuesday in connection with the 1999 shooting death of 18-year-old Kelvin Howard. He is the second arrest in the case, police say.

Albrecht Muth was convicted Thursday of first-degree premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances in connection with the death of his 91-year-old wife, Viola Herms Drath. Jurors in the case delivered their verdict around 1:10 p.m. Thursday after deliberating for less than a day.

Judge John Ramsey Johnson found probable cause in the case against Roger St. John, charging him with participating in the May 2013 shooting death of 22-year-old Rhett Gelb, even though St. John wasn’t the shooter.

Isaiah Gant was sentenced to three years in prison in connection with the death of Olijawon Griffin at a Metro stop in Northwest DC. Gant pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, robbery and possession of a firearm in the case.

Cedric Spicer was sentenced to 23 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Joseph Hardin.

James Brewer and Stephen Page were sentenced Friday in connection with the shooting death of 71-year-old Vietnam veteran Solomon Reese. The two men pleaded guilty in November to killing Reese during the course of a robbery. Brewer was sentenced to 27 years and 8 months in prison; Page was sentenced to 31 years in prison.

Donzell Butler pleaded guilty to unarmed voluntary manslaughter and assault with significant bodily injury in connection with the stabbing death of Charles Anthony Scott Jr.

In brief:

There were no murders in DC this week.

Judge Lynn Leibovitz found probable cause in the case charging Paul Jefferies with the death of 24-year-old Awele Olisemeka, who died after being hit in the head with a brick. Jefferies, 20, is scheduled for a felony status conference on March 10.

Albrecht Muth‘s murder trial began. He is charged with the death of his 91-year-old wife, Viola Herms Drath. Drath was found on August 12, 2011 beaten and strangled in her Georgetown home. Muth, 49, who has endured a year long self-induced fast is not present at trial and is viewing proceedings from his hospital room through a video link. The trial is scheduled to continue on Monday.

Alphonso Cleveland was ordered held in connection with the stabbing death of his 51-year-old wife, Claudia Hall. Cleveland, 52, is charged with second-degree murder while armed in Hall’s death. The case is scheduled for a preliminary hearing January 21.

Rashad Slye pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed in connection with the 2011 shooting death of 40-year-old cab driver, Domingo Ezirike. Slye, 23, is scheduled for sentencing on April 4.

Howard Randolph was released to a halfway house after Judge Canan did not find substantial probability that he killed 21-year-old Rayshawn Hailstock. Randolph, 25, is scheduled for a status hearing on February 17.

Judge Jennifer Anderson found probable cause that James Cornelius Robinson shot and killed 30-year-old Jason Alexander Murphy in August 2013. Robinson, 19, is scheduled for a felony status conference on March 19.

Marvin Moore seeks to withdraw his plea to charges in connection with the 2013 death of 58-year-old Timothy Benjamin. Moore, 36, initially pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in October, but wrote a letter to Judge Canan asking to withdraw the plea. The case is scheduled for sentencing on January 31, pending a motion to withdraw the plea.