Homicide Watch D.C.

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.
Read more

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.

Kevin Brown was ordered released from jail Thursday and the murder charge against him dropped when prosecutors asked Judge Rhonda Winston to dismiss the case.

Brown, 31, has been held for nine months on the second-degree murder charge. Prosecutors had argued that Brown shot 19-year-old James Edward Dean in Feb. 2013.

Prosecutors asked that the case be dismissed on Thursday after a Grand Jury did not return an indictment against Brown. Read more

UPDATE 1:44 p.m.
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. The victim has not yet been identified. A press release from MPD has been added to the bottom of this post.

***

A man found shot in an overturned car in Northwest DC Wednesday night has died of his injuries, according to media reports.

The Washington Post reports that police responded to a vehicle collision in the 900 block of Madison St. NW just before 8 p.m. and found the man in the car.

He was transported to a hospital where he died. Fox 5 reports that witnesses saw the victim traveling inside his light-colored BMW traveling on the wrong side of Madison Street, before crashing into several other cars.

Police are still investigating how the man was shot.

A press release from the Metropolitan Police Department is below.

March 6, 2014

Homicide: 1200 Block of Madison Street, Northwest

(Washington, DC) – Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating a homicide which occurred in the 1200 block of Madison Street, Northwest.

On Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at approximately 7:51 pm, police officers from the Fourth Patrol District responded to a call for the report of a vehicular accident in the 900 block of Madison Street, Northwest. Upon arrival, they located an adult male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound inside the vehicle in the 900 block of Madison Street, Northwest. After a comprehensive investigation, it was established that the offense occurred in the 1200 block of Madison Street, Northwest. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel transported the victim to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The decedent was subsequently transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner where an autopsy will be performed to ascertain cause and manner of death.

The victim has not been identified at the present time.

The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons wanted for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at (202) 727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.

Nearly two years after Amber Lynette Kent was fatally stabbed by her best friend Cydrisse Alvin, family members and loved ones are still asking themselves, “Why?”

Alvin, 33, was sentenced Wednesday, 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 after two days of deliberations.

“I’ve been lost and in a daze for two years,” said Kent’s mother Patricia Kent, during her impact statement to the court. “I wish the defendant knew how close me and my daughter were, she was like my shadow.”

Kent would have turned 30 years old last Friday. She is survived by a young daughter who was six years old when she witnessed her mother’s murder.
Read more

For nearly four months, jurors have heard evidence in the case charging Keir Johnson and Lester Williams with the shooting death of Jamal Coates, who was killed leaving a friend’s funeral in the U Street corridor in September 2010.

Prosecutors argued that Johnson and Williams, along with Robert Givens and Marcellus Jackson are linked by their allegiance to “G-Rod,” a group of “20 or so members” living near 14th and Girard. The four men face 80 criminal counts related to the deaths of Paul Jones, Sean Robinson and Coates.

On Tuesday, defense attorneys for Johnson and Williams addressed the jurors for a final time, arguing that eyewitness testimony contradicts with the testimony of witnesses who were former G-Rod members.

“The government says that you can’t believe the eyewitnesses, but that you should believe in Brandon Miller and Ricardo Epps,” said William’s defense attorney Kevin Oliver. “Miller lied on the stand. That’s the type of person you are dealing with.”
Read more

A D.C. teen killed last week had his cell phone stolen and was stabbed 11 times in the head, neck and back outside of an apartment building in Southeast D.C.

That’s according to court documents charging Jibril Abdul-Muwwakil with second-degree murder. Abdul-Muwwakil was presented with the charge Saturday and remains held pending a preliminary hearing in the case, scheduled for March 26.

He’s suspected in the February 27 stabbing death of Jonathon Adams in the 4300 block of Halley Terrace Southeast.

Charging documents say that a family member told police that Muwwakil suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Another witness described him as being mentally challenged, documents say.
Read more

Winter storm Titan has buried the District in snow and prompted officials to close Moultrie Courthouse Monday. All criminal cases and arraigments scheduled for Mar. 3 will be postponed until Mar. 4.

DC Courts will be closed Monday, March 3, due to the storm. Jurors need not report. Arraignments will not take place. Emergency judge avail

— DC Courts PIO (@DCCourtsInfo) March 3, 2014

The trial of Montez and David Warren, which began last month, is among the trials postponed. Testimony is expected to resume Tuesday at 10:45 a.m.

The trial of Keir Johnson, Lester Williams, Robert Givens, and Marcellus Jackson, which began several months ago, is also among the trials postponed. Testimony is expected to resume Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

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.

Since Thursday evening, six people have been killed in DC.

We’re gathering coverage of their deaths below.
Read more