In brief:
Javar Robert Allen was shot and killed in the 1500 block of 23rd Street Southeast Saturday morning.
Closing arguments began in the “21st and Vietnam” murder trial. Stanley Moghalu, one of two men on trial for the shooting death of 36-year-old Steven Curtis Moore, testified that he was with his fiance during the time of the shooting and nowhere near Moore. “I was with [Alycia Worsley],” Moghalu said. “That night we drove past a road block and I didn’t think nothing of it. A friend told me the next day Moore was shot.”
Melvin Quick was released from D.C. jail after a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to hold him in connection with the shooting death of Mikey Ledbetter. Though Quick is free to return home, prosecutors plan to continue investigating the case.
Donald Dubose was held on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Michael Oshea Smith. Prosecutors believe Dubose participated in a drive-by shooting that ended Smith’s life in May 2012.
Eugene Antoine Kelly was sentenced Friday to 67 years in prison in connection with the shooting death of Isaiah Daniel Harris.
A Southeast D.C. man who was fatally shot Saturday morning has been identified as 29-year-old Javar Robert Allen.
Allen was found around 12:30 a.m. Saturday in the 1500 block of 23rd Street Southeast suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An MPD press release is after the jump.
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Each week, Homicide Watch brings you a list of upcoming hearings in the cases we follow. All hearings are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted. To add an item to the listing, email homicidewatchdc [at] gmail.com. To see scheduled court hearings beyond next week, see our calendar.
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Fifteen-year-old Isaiah Harris was supposed to wear his new Calvin Klein suit to prom.
Instead, his family buried him in it.
Harris was shot and killed May 30, 2011. Eugene Antoine Kelly was convicted in April of first-degree murder in connection with Harris’s death; he was sentenced Friday to 67 years in prison. Read more
Donald Dubose was held Thursday on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Michael Oshea Smith. Prosecutors believe Dubose, 24, participated in a drive-by shooting that ended Smith’s life in May 2012. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 23.
Smith, 34, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in the passenger seat of vehicle that had crashed into the side of a home on Stevens Road Southeast. The driver of the vehicle suffered a gunshot wound to the arm and survived.
Charging documents in the case say investigators discovered two bullet holes in the vehicle, and recovered five 9mm cartridge casings from the crime scene. A review of the firearms evidence determined that two guns were used, suggesting there were two shooters.
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A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a 2012 shooting that killed Michael Oshea Smith in Southeast DC.
According to a press release from MPD, the suspect, Donald Dubose, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Smith was killed in a May 2012 double shooting in the 1200 block of Stevens Road Southeast. The other person shot survived.
MPD’s press release is after the jump.
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Closing arguments began Wednesday in the case charging four alleged members of a crew called “21st and Vietnam” with the deaths of Tyrell Fogle, Isaiah Sheffield and Steven Moore. Prosecutors in the trial say that defendants Anthony Hatton, Jekwan Smith, Johnnie Harris, and Stanley Moghalu, are linked to the shooting deaths by their loyalty to a group called “21st and Vietnam,” an area near 21st and I Street in Northeast DC.
The defendants in this case are charged with 21 counts including conspiracy, first-degree murder, obstruction of justice, assault, and weapons charges related to the 2011 shooting deaths of Fogle, Sheffield and Moore.
Prosecutor Laura Bach addressed conspiracy charges and weapon possession in today’s closing argument, saying Hatton, Smith, Harris and Moghalu never sat down and said “Hey, let’s conspire to murder and obstruct justice.” Instead, the men were bound by the common purpose to protect one another she said. And the testimony of Delrico Shuford, a former crew member, showed their loyalty to “21st and Vietnam”.
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Melvin Quick was released from D.C. jail Tuesday after Judge Michael Ryan ruled there was not enough evidence to hold him in connection with the shooting death of 36-year-old Mikey Ledbetter.
“I don’t have probable cause that links Mr. Quick to the shooting of Mr. Ledbetter,” Ryan said, following a hearing of the evidence Tuesday.
Though Quick is free to return home, prosecutors plan to continue investigating the case, and they said they expect a grand jury to indict Quick in connection with Ledbetter’s death before October 25.
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Stanley Moghalu, one of two men on trial for the shooting death 36-year-old Steven Curtis Moore, told jurors Monday that he was nowhere near Moore at the time of his death, and that he was with his fiance during the time of the shooting.
“I was with [Alycia Worsley],” Moghalu said. “That night we drove past a road block and I didn’t think nothing of it. A friend told me the next day Moore was shot.”
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In brief:
Four-year-old Kamari Zavon Taylor was killed after being hit in the abdomen; police say Taylor’s mother’s boyfriend is responsible. That man, Peter Hendy, was arrested and was ordered held pending a preliminary hearing on a charge of first-degree murder.
Torrence Joseph Allen, 25, was fatally shot in Southeast DC.
Melvin Quick was ordered held on a charge of first-degree murder while armed pending a preliminary hearing in connection with the shooting death of 36-year-old Mikey Ledbetter.
Derrell Bennett pleaded guilty for a second time Wednesday to second-degree murder while armed in connection with the 2010 shooting death of 29-year-old Keith Banks.
Judge Ronna Beck found probable cause that Don Demichie Page Jr. and Wesley Monroe both participated in the shooting death of Quentin Lavar White. Page and Monroe remain held while a grand jury investigates the case.
