Homicide Watch D.C.

James Cornelius Robinson, a 19-year-old Suitland, Maryland man who was arrested over the weekend in connection with the August shooting death of Jason Alexander Murphy, told police in October that he didn’t shoot Murphy.

But an interview last month with one of his friends who is facing charges of his own prompted police to issue an arrest warrant charging Robinson in the case.

Robinson appeared at DC Superior Court on the second-degree murder charge Saturday. At that appearance he was ordered held pending a preliminary hearing.
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Homicide Watch DC offers internships for pay and course credit. We are now accepting applications for Spring.

HWDC interns are responsible for a variety of writing and reporting task including covering daily court hearings— including trials— reporting breaking news, collecting source documents, and reporting and writing feature stories, including data stories. Interns also manage our public courts calendar and documents library as well as produce weekly features including Week Ahead and Week in Review.

To apply: Send a resume and a few reporting clips with your cover letter and the name and contact information for a reference to Laura Amico.

In brief:

Two people were killed in DC this week.

• Demetrius Eccles, 31, was shot and killed in the 900 block of Sheridan Street Northwest. No suspects have been arrested.
• John Thomas Tillman, 63, died from a stabbing in the intersection of North Capitol St. and Florida Ave. Northwest. Deon Anthony Thomas, 37, has been arrested and held on suspicion of second-degree murder while armed in Tillman’s death.

The July 31 death of Kisha Lashawn was ruled a domestic homicide. Lashawn, 31, was found unconscious in the 2200 block of Retta Gilliam Ct. Southeast. Police said a suspect in the case was identified but has died.

Cedric Spicer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed in connection with the February shooting death of 24-year-old Joseph Hardin. Spicer, 25, remains held and will be sentenced on January 17, 2014 by Judge Herbert Dixon Jr.

Judge Henry Greene declared a mistrial on the remaining charges against Jekwan Smith and Johnnie Harris in connection with the 2011 shooting death of 24-year-old Isaiah Sheffield. Greene’s decision ends all deliberations in a trial that charged Smith, Harris, Stanley Moghalu and Anthony Hatton with 21 counts related to the deaths of Sheffield, Steven Moore and Tyrell Fogle.

The murder trial against Cydrisse Alvin began with Judge Ronna Beck. Alvin, 31, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed in connection with the June 2012 stabbing death of her best friend, 28-year-old Amber Kent.

Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush were found guilty of first-degree murder while armed, assault and related weapons offenses in connection with the 2011 Caribbean Festival shooting death of 43-year-old Robert Foster Jr. The co-defendants remain held and will be sentenced by Judge John Johnson on March 17, 2014.

Chavez Myers, Immanuel Swann, Muquan Cawthorne, Deon Jefferson and Greg Whitaker were sentenced Friday to a combined total of more than 100 years in prison in connection with the death of 18-year-old Olijawon Griffin, who was robbed and stabbed inside a Northwest DC metro station on November 17, 2012.

James Cornelius Robinson of Suitland, Md. was arrested in connection with the August shooting death of 30-year-old Jason Alexander Murphy. Robinson, 19, remains held and charged with second-degree murder while armed in Murphy’s death.

A 19-year-old Suitland, Maryland man was arrested early Saturday morning in connection with the August shooting death of Jason Alexander Murphy.

The suspect, identified by police as James Cornelius Robinson is suspected of second-degree murder while armed.

A press release from MPD 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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Six young men were sentenced Friday to a combined total of more than 100 years in prison; they had all pleaded guilty to killing 18-year-old Olijawon Griffin inside a Northwest DC metro station after robbing him and his friend.

“This is a tragic illustration of what happens when people arm themselves and rob innocent people,” Judge Ronna Beck said at sentencing. “Things go wrong and people die. Olijawon Griffin died trying to protect his best friend, Isaac Chase, who was being brutally attacked by these young men.”
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The death of a 31-year-old in Southeast DC in July has been ruled a homicide and police say the woman was the victim of domestic violence.

Police on Friday evening identified the woman as Kisha Lashawn McCall. They said a suspect in the case has been identified, but has since died.

A press release from MPD is after the jump.
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Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush, two of the three men accused in the fatal shooting at the Carribean festival in Northwest DC in 2011, were found guilty late Friday afternoon of all charges against them including first-degree murder and assault.

The third man accused in the case, Terry Jimenez, pleaded guilty last April to second-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill, and aggravated assault knowingly while armed.

Jurors delivered Bryant’s and Bush’s verdicts after one day of deliberations.
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Jurors began deliberating Thursday in a first-degree murder case charging Deonte Bryant and Terrance Bush with the June 2011 Caribbean Festival shooting death of 43-year-old Robert Foster Jr.

During more than two weeks of trial, prosecutors argued that Bryant and Bush attended the festival armed with the intent to shoot rival crew member Terry Jimenez. When the three men engaged in a shootout, prosecutors said, Foster was caught in the crossfire.

But defense attorneys in the case claim that the two co-defendants shot back at Jimenez in self-defense, and blame Foster’s death on Jimenez, who they say initiated the confrontation.

“Terry Jimenez decided Deonte Bryant and his friends didn’t belong in his territory,” Bryant’s defense attorney, Daniel Quillin, said Thursday. “It was because of [Jimenez] and his reckless actions, that Robert Foster Jr. is dead today.” Read more

Prosecutors say they may never know why Cydrisse Alvin stabbed her best friend Amber Lynette Kent. But during opening arguments on Wednesday, Attorney Laura Worm told jurors that the evidence will show that Alvin stabbed Kent three times, twice in the back.

Alvin’s defense attorneys say that their client is a “convenient scapegoat” for the actual killer, Kent’s boyfriend Lamarzs Wilson, who was present at the incident, along with Kent’s six-year-old daughter. Attorney Dominique Winters alleged that Wilson stabbed Kent after she erupted in drug-fueled anger in her apartment on June 4, 2012.
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