Marvin Palencia was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and related weapons offenses in connection with the shooting death of 36-year-old Jacobo Vazquez.
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Ricardo Mitchell Sentenced to 26 Years for Murder of Wyatt Robinson
A grand jury described the murder of 33-year-old Wyatt Earp Robinson as “especially heinous, atrocious and cruel.” Judge Lynn Leibovitz described it as “terrible, unjustifiable and a hot-blooded act.” Robinson’s killer, Ricardo Mitchell, said Friday at his sentencing hearing that he wishes things had turned out differently.
“I humbly apologize to Mr. Robinson’s family and also my family,” Mitchell told a crowded courtroom. “I’m not here to make any excuses. I dread every single day. I just wish things would’ve went a totally different way.”
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Alex Cater Pleads Guilty in Connection with Leroy Studevant Murder
Alex Cater, one of the two suspects held in connection with the 2011 strangulation death of 56-year-old Leroy Studevant, pleaded guilty Wednesday.
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Substantial Probability Found in Akinwole Williams Murder
Judge Robert Morin found substantial probability Thursday that co-defendants Floyd Neal, Lafeyette Robinson and DeAndre Shaheed each participated in the shooting death of 31-year-old Akinwole Olu Williams.
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Grand Jury Indicts Daren Vaughn in Connection with Tyrell Swann Murder
A grand jury has indicted Daren Vaughn on charges of premeditated first-degree murder, felony murder, armed robbery and related weapons offenses in connection with the stabbing death of 23-year-old Tyrell Swann. Vaughn pleaded innocent to all charges Thursday and a trial date is scheduled for March 2014.
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Jury Deliberations Begin in Marvin Palencia Murder Trial
On November 11, 2010, Marvin Palencia drank alcohol while sitting in his van, which was in the parking garage of a building in the 100 block of Constitution Avenue Northwest. He had with him in that van a recently purchased gun, which Palencia says he bought to use on himself. Then, Palencia spotted Jacobo Vazquez, a co-worker who had had an affair with his wife, and he decided to follow him into a storage room on the second floor of that parking garage. Vazquez never left the storage room alive.
Prosecutors in the murder trial against Palencia, 35, told jurors in closing arguments Wednesday that the murder was planned from start to finish, after Palencia learned of a months-long affair between his wife and 36-year-old Vazquez.
“[Palencia] knew exactly what was going to happen,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Canon said. “He was going to murder him.” It was “a classic case of premeditated murder,” he said.
But Palencia’s defense attorneys argued that Palencia only wanted to scare Vazquez with his gun that evening, but became fearful after Vazquez pulled a knife from his shoe.
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“Their case is built with weak bricks,” Defense Attorney Says of Government’s Murder Case Against Davon Holmes
Although prosecutors in the murder trial against Davon Holmes have found no motive or explanation as to why Marcellus Terrell Bailey was killed, they expect witnesses to testify at trial that they saw Holmes stab Bailey in the neck in August 2011. But Holmes’ defense attorney, James Beane, argued Tuesday that the government’s version of events is built on “a house of maybes.”
Jurors heard these opening statements Tuesday morning in the murder trial against Holmes, 28, who is charged with the stabbing death of 24-year-old Marcellus Bailey.
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Trial Charging DC Men with Murder, Conspiracy in Three Deaths Opens with Arguments from Attorneys
Opening arguments were heard Monday in a murder case charging four DC men with killing three men in five months in the fall and winter of 2011.
The defendants, Anthony Hatton, Jekwan Smith, Johnnie Harris, and Stanley Moghalu, are believed by prosecutors to be linked by their loyalty to a group called “21st and Vietnam.” The group, prosecutor Erin Lyons said, is “not formal” and there “is no weekly meeting” but they “carried guns, packaged drugs and solved problems with violence.”
The men are charged with 21 counts including conspiracy, first-degree murder, obstruction of justice, assault, and weapons charges related to the deaths of Tyrell Fogle, Isaiah Sheffield and Steven Moore.
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Tywayne Thompson Killed in SE DC Shooting Early Monday
A 25-year-old Southeast DC man was found shot early Monday in the 700 block of 12th Street Southeast.
The man, identified by police as Tywayne Thompson, was taken to a hospital where he died.
A press release from MPD is after the jump.
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“I had intentions of using it against myself,” Marvin Palencia Says About Gun Used to Murder Jacobo Vazquez
Marvin Palencia testified at trial Monday that when he learned explicit sexual details of the relationship between his wife and Jacobo Vasquez from a coworker, he contemplated suicide. His feelings, he said, were “the worst ever, really bad.” And later, when he shot and killed Vazquez, Palencia said, he acted out of panic.
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