On the East of the River listserve this evening, MPD 7D Community Outreach Coordinator Lendia Sue Johnson wrote:
A memorial service will be held for LATISHA FRAZIER tomorrow, Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 10:00am at the Holy Missionary Baptist Church for All People (House of Praise), Rev. Steve E. Young, Sr. Pastor, 5110 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE, Washington, DC. If possible, please attend to help comfort the families of missing and murdered loved ones. They need all of the prayers, love and support available. Thanks so much.
Each Friday Homicide Watch brings you a tickler of which murder cases are coming up in the DC courts. Highlights this week are a status hearing in the Latisha Frazier murder case, and a possible plea deal in the death of Gregory Joyner.
This information is current as of Friday June 3 at 1:30 p.m. Please remember that court dates can change, even at the last minute. To view the docket of a case please go to the D.C. Courts website and search by the defendant’s name. To add an item to the calendar, email homicidewatchdc [at] gmail.com.
Details on scheduled court appearances are after the jump.
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Alongside DC’s streets and alleys, memorial shrines to victims of violent crime flourish. From teddy bears to candles to empty bottles to graffiti, many family, friends and neighbors try to mark the places where lives have been taken.
The photoblog Washington’s Other Monuments marks these sites.
Here’s a sampling of photos from recent cases.
Memorial to Alphonzo Epps, aka Fonnie Fee
A graffiti shrine in memory of Moeconi Crutchfield.
Memorial shrine to Glenn Bailey
Funeral services for Ronnie Speight, a 20-year-old DC man shot to death in the 5100 block of Jay Street, NE last week, will be held tomorrow at First Rising Mt Zion Baptist Church in NW DC, according to Speight’s obituary.
Family will receive friends on Saturday, June 4 from 9 a.m. until time of service, 11 a.m. at First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 602 N St., N.W. Interment Harmony Memorial Park.
MPD Chief Cathy Lanier spoke briefly about the Isaiah Harris murder case on WTOP’s “Ask the Chief” segment yesterday.
Lanier said:
We made an arrest late yesterday evening in a May 30 homicide. Two kids, 14 and 15, were shot in the 1400 block of New Jersey Ave., NW. We arrested a 26-year-old last night. Hats off to the homicide detectives and the task force that went out and picked him up yesterday.
WAMU reported today on the vigil for 15-year-old homicide victim Isaiah Harris, which was held last night outside of Harris’ middle school.
Reported WAMU:
At the vigil held at Isaiah’s school, everyone expressed their sorrow a little differently, but one point was made again and again: Isaiah Harris was a young man on the right track, taken from his friends and family far too soon.
“It’s a real loss, he was on a path that should have never included anything like this,” said Jonathan Rothwell, Harris’ mentor in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program.
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This comment of the day comes from Crazy World, who wrote on a story about Isaiah Harris:
I just found it crazy what these street has come to you will be lucky to even reach 21 now. And that’s a sad thing to say. When I was younger I could care less what happen in dc streets. Now that have changed a lot having my own child and all I keep up with everything. I sit and think about how its going to be when my daughter gets older. I’m not going to lie I’m nervous
Investigators believe that 15-year-old Isaiah Harris was killed this week by a man seeking to avenge his brother’s death.
That man, Eugene Kelly, appeared in court Thursday afternoon, charged with first-degree premeditated murder. According to charging papers in the case, investigators believe that Kelly shot Harris and another young man after stating to a witness that someone had killed his brother in the same neighborhood.
“Someone’s gonna pay, I’m gonna go get my gun,” the witness reported Kelly said the night of the shooting.
Assistant US Attorney Michael Ortwein declined to comment on the case and would not identify Kelly’s deceased brother.
Harris, an eighth grade student at Garnett Patterson Middle School in Northwest D.C., died after being shot in the buttock. His friend, who was shot in the leg, survived. The two boys were walking home at 10:15 on Monday night from another friend’s home.
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The investigation into the death of Ali Ahmed Mohammed outside the DC9 nightclub has been closed, after investigators determined that there is not enough evidence to pursue criminal charges for the man’s death.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the case was closed today, saying the six month investigation conducted by homicide detectives and prosecutors was a “wide reaching… and a careful analysis of the evidence.”
Mohammed’s family met with USAO officials today and were informed of the decision, according to a press release from the USAO.
According to that statement, though Mohammed’s death was classified as a homicide by the Medical Examiner’s office, there was no indication that a criminal act caused the homicide.
On January 6, 2011, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner issued its autopsy report. The manner of death was listed forensically as homicide, which means that others were involved, though not necessarily criminally responsible, in Mr. Mohammed’s death. The autopsy findings confirmed that there were no significant physical injuries to Mr. Mohammed, and certainly none consistent with being beaten. The only injuries observed were consistent with being held on the ground. The cause of death was listed as excited delirium, associated with heart defects, alcohol intoxication and physical exertion with restraint. In light of all the evidence, the medical examiner observed no physical injuries that reasonably could be associated with criminal homicide charges. The independent forensic pathologist agreed with this determination.
Read the USAO’s full statement, and a statement from MPD, after the jump.Read more
A candlelight vigil in memory of teen Isaiah Harris is planned for this evening at 8 p.m. at Garnett Patterson Middle School, the Washington Post reports.
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