Burnis Cole | Homicide Watch DC

Burnis Cole on Supervised Release Before January Trial

Imari Williams — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:45:42 -0500

A judge ordered Burnis Cole released on high intensity supervision Tuesday after a bond review hearing. Cole is charged with first-degree murder while armed and related weapons offenses for the January 2013 death of Raasheem Jamal Rich. Cole's trial is expected to begin January 2015.

Rich, 40, was found suffering from multiple stab wounds in the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue Southeast.

Rich was killed outside of a liquor store after an altercation with Cole , documents say.

Video footage shows Cole and three other men entering the store, and Rich following shortly after, court documents state. According to documents, Cole and Rich got into a verbal argument that turned physical. The five men were escorted outside, Cole exited the store ahead of Rich, but was seen holding something that resembled a knife, charging documents say.

The video shows Cole waiting outside the store. Cole is seen moving closer to Rich with his right arm extended before leaving the view of the camera.

After being stabbed, Rich ran into an adjacent parking lot, ripped his shirt off and collapsed on the sidewalk in front of the liquor store parking lot, court documents state.

A witness told police that Cole and Rich were arguing in the liquor store when Rich said something to the effect of, "F-- that Ima kill your bitch ass," documents state.

Cole is scheduled for a trial readiness hearing December 15 at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Jennifer Anderson.

Burnis Cole Indicted in Raasheem Jamal Rich Murder

Ivan Natividad — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 11:47:14 -0400

Burnis Cole was arraigned Thursday on charges of first-degree murder while armed and a related weapons offense in connection with the stabbing death of 40-year-old Raasheem Jamal Rich. Cole pleaded innocent to all charges and remains held pending a status hearing November 14.

Police found Rich on January 10 at 3:27 p.m. on the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue Southeast suffering from apparent stab wounds. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. One week later Cole, 35, was arrested and held on suspicion of first-degree murder while armed in Rich's death.

Charging documents state that Rich was killed after a verbal altercation turned physical.

Video surveillance captures Cole and three other men exiting a gray Ford van parked on Alabama Avenue. The four men then enter a nearby liquor store, and Rich follows minutes later, documents state.

While in the store, Cole and Rich get into an argument, causing Cole to punch Rich, charging documents argue. Store employees then escort the five men outside. Cole exited the store before Rich, but as Cole was leaving he produced something resembling a knife from his pants pocket, court documents state.

Video shows Cole then waiting outside the store. Just before leaving the view of the camera, Cole is seen moving closer to Rich with his right arm extended, documents state.

Charging documents state that moments later, Rich runs into an adjacent parking lot. He rips his shirt off, and collapses to the sidewalk in front of the liquor store parking lot, court documents state.

A witness to the incident told police that Cole and Rich were arguing in the liquor store when Rich said something to the effect of, "F--- that Ima kill your bitch ass," documents state.

The witness said after everyone was ushered outside he ran away from the incident with a coworker he was with. According to charging documents, police later identified the witness as the driver of the gray Ford van that Cole was seen exiting from moments before Rich was murdered.

Cole is held pending a status hearing November 14 with Judge Herbert Dixon.

Burnis Cole Charged with Second-Degree Murder in Stabbing Death of Raasheem Rich

Penny Ray — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:12:48 -0500

On Thursday Judge William Jackson found probable cause on the lesser charge of second-degree murder while armed in the case against Burnis Cole, suspected of fatal stabbing of 40-year-old Raasheem Jamal Rich. Prosecutors had sought a charge of first-degree murder.

According to arrest documents, video surveillance from a liquor store on Alabama Avenue Southeast recorded an altercation between Cole and Rich on January 10, which resulted in Rich's death.

Cole entered the liquor store with two other men and Rich followed shortly afterwards, according to the documents. They began arguing, but then Cole punched Rich. Employees of the liquor store escorted the group out of the store, with Cole and the two men exiting before Rich.

The documents say that Cole produced a knife from his pants pocket as he exited the store, and video shows him waiting for Rich outside of the store.

Just before leaving the view of the camera, Cole is seen moving closer to Rich with his right arm extended. Moments later, Rich runs into an adjacent parking lot, rips his shirt off, and then collapses to the sidewalk in front of the liquor store parking lot, according to documents in the case.

Rich died on the scene from a single stab wound to his left chest that punctured his heart; police say they did not recover any weapons from the scene.

Weekend Read: Raasheem Jamal Rich, D.C.'s First Homicide Victim of 2013, Served 20 Years for 1990 Murder

Sam Pearson — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 10:45:10 -0500

The Washington Post reports that Raasheem Jamal Rich, fatally stabbed Jan. 10, was once himself a killer in 1990.

Rich spent two decades in prison, during which the number of people killed in D.C. plummeted. His conviction two decades ago, and his violent death this year, connect two wildly different moments in the history of crime in the District.

The killings in the early ‘90s turned the nation’s capital into the country’s epicenter of violence and drug abuse. The image is different today. Just days before Rich was fatally stabbed on the afternoon of Jan. 10 outside a liquor store on Alabama Avenue in Southeast Washington, the District’s mayor and police chief hailed a milestone: 88 slayings in 2012, the fewest in 51 years.

Police arrested Burnis Cole Jan. 17 on suspicion of killing Rich. Cole appeared in court Jan. 18 and was ordered held at D.C. Jail. Video surveillance shows Cole and Rich fighting at a liquor store on Alabama Avenue Southeast, according to court documents.

Read the full story here.

You can find more weekend reads here.

Burnis Cole Held in Death of Raasheem Rich

Penny Ray — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:26:53 -0500

Burnis Cole, the man accused in D.C.'s first homicide of 2013, appeared in court Friday afternoon to be presented with a charge of first-degree murder.

The judge in the case, Karen Howze, ruled that there was enough evidence at this stage to hold Cole in connection with the fatal stabbing of Raasheem Jamal Rich on January 10.

According to charging documents, detectives used video surveillance of the night Rich was killed to build their case. Those recordings show Cole and Rich fighting at a liquor store on Alabama Avenue in Southeast D.C.

One video shows Cole and three other men exiting a gray Ford van parked outside the liquor store.

Cole and two of the men entered the liquor store, documents say. Rich followed minutes later.

Inside the store, Cole and Rich engaged in a verbal altercation and then Cole punched Rich, the charging documents describe. Employees escorted Cole, the two men he arrived with, and Rich out of the store. Cole and the two men exited before Rich, but according to the documents, Cole produced something resembling a knife from his pants pocket while leaving.

The video shows Cole waiting for Rich outside the store, the documents say. Cole then moved alongside Rich as he passed the front window of the store. Just before leaving the view of the camera, Cole is seen moving closer to Rich with his right arm extended.

Moments later, Rich runs into an adjacent parking lot, rips his shirt off, and then collapses to the sidewalk in front of the liquor store parking lot, according to documents in the case.

MPD released parts of the surveillance video soon after Rich's death and asked for the public's help in identifying the men seen in the video. According to charging documents, about three days after the video's release, a witness contacted police and identified Cole as a person shown in the video.

Charging documents have been added to this post.

Burnis Cole Charging Documents (PDF)Burnis Cole Charging Documents (Text)

Burnis Cole Arrested in Raasheem Jamal Rich Murder

Sam Pearson — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:10:26 -0500

Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force officers have arrested Burnis Cole Thursday in connection with the Jan. 10 murder of Raasheem Jamal Rich.

Rich, 40, was the District's first homicide of 2013. Police distributed a video showing a person of interest in the case Saturday.

As of Thursday afternoon, Cole had not yet appeared before a judge to be presented with first-degree murder charges.

A press release from the Metropolitan Police Department is after the jump.

(Washington, DC) — Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch announced today a suspect has been arrested in the fatal stabbing which occurred in the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue, Southeast.

On Thursday, January 10, 2013, at approximately 3:27 pm, an off-duty Metropolitan Police Officer was flagged down for a stabbing in the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue., SE. Upon the arrival the off-duty officer and additional units from the Sixth District, they located an adult male suffering from apparent stab wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services transported the victim to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

The decedent is identified as 40-year-old Raasheem Jamal Rich of Northeast, Washington, DC.

On Thursday, January 17, 2013, at approximately 6:20 am, members from the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 35 year-old Burnis Cole of Southeast, DC, pursuant to an arrest warrant and charged him with Murder One while Armed in connection with the homicide of Raasheem Jamal Rich.