William Faison | Homicide Watch DC

William Faison Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Jeffrey Covington Murder

Ivan Natividad — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 11:48:03 -0400

Judge Ronna Beck sentenced William Faison to 25 years in prison Friday for the shooting death of 19-year-old Jeffrey Covington.

"I don't think Mr. Faison set out to harm anybody," Judge Beck said. "But when you go after someone with a firearm in your possession there is always the possibility that someone could get killed, and in fact somebody did get killed."

Police found Covington on July 2, 2011, at approximately 1:30 a.m. on the 600 block of 46th Place Southeast suffering from a gunshot wound. He was later transported to a local hospital where he died. A month later, Faison, 23, was arrested and held on suspicion of first-degree murder while armed in Covington's death.

Faison pleaded guilty in June to second-degree murder while armed. Covington's father, Jeffrey Blount, was a co-defendant in the case and also pleaded guilty in June to tampering with physical evidence in the case.

Plea documents state that the morning of the murder Faison, Blount and Covington were at a craps game on the 600 block of 45th Place Southeast.

In the course of the game, Faison pulled a revolver from his waistband and pointed it at Blount's back. When Blount ran, Faison chased him. Covington then pulled out a broken gun and pointed it at Faison. Faison turned and fired one shot hitting Covington in the throat, severing his vertebrae.

Prosecutors argued Friday that Faison was convicted of armed robbery just months before he shot and killed Covington, and pleaded with Judge Beck to give Faison the maximum sentence. But Faison's defense attorney, Daniel Quillin, said that Faison has accepted responsibility for Covington's death, and that the shooting was not a vicious attack, but a reflexive reaction.

Covington's father, Blount, spoke to the court Friday in an angry verbal attack on the judicial system and Faison, the man who killed his son.

"The government is corrupt," he said. "I don't know [Faison], I never seen this dude but I wish the best for him. This dude made a mistake, a big mistake."

A press release is below

United States Attorney’s Office
District of Columbia
U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.

District Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison In 2011 Slaying in Southeast Washington
-Victim’s Father Pled Guilty to Tampering With Evidence at the Scene-

WASHINGTON – William Faison, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 25 years of incarceration for the slaying of 19-year-old Jeffrey Covington during an attempted robbery in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced

Faison pled guilty in June 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second-degree murder while armed. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna Lee Beck. Upon completion of his prison term, Faison will be placed on five years of supervised release.

In a related development, the victim’s father, Jeffrey Blount, 43, also of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in June 2013 to a charge of tampering with physical evidence at the scene of the murder. Blount later was sentenced to five months of incarceration, but the time was suspended on the condition that he successfully completes a year of probation.

According to the government’s evidence, on July 2, 2011, Jeffrey Blount and his son were involved in a craps game in the 600 block of 46th Place SE. Shortly after 1 a.m., Faison, who was nearby, approached Blount while pulling a .38-caliber revolver from his waistband.

Faison pushed Mr. Covington aside to get to Blount and pointed the gun at Blount’s back in an attempt to rob him. Nearly everyone involved in the craps game, including Blount, fled. Faison chased after Blount, with his gun still drawn. Mr. Covington attempted to come to the aid of his father by pointing an inoperable weapon at Faison. Faison then turned back toward the victim and fired one shot at him, fatally striking him in the upper chest/throat.

Faison then fled into an apartment in a building on the block. Police sought and obtained a search warrant for that apartment on July 2, 2011, and they recovered a .38-caliber revolver with a spent shell casing inside. Faison was still in the apartment at the time of the recovery.

Following the murder, Blount returned to the scene, approached his son’s body, and attempted to remove currency from Mr. Covington’s pockets. He then checked his son’s pulse before moving the inoperable pistol from Mr. Covington’s side to a nearby trash can.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives, officers, and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Phaylyn Hunt, Fern Rhedrick, and Kendra Johnson and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen recognized Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melinda A. Williams, Jeffrey Pearlman, and Erik Kenerson, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

William Faison Pleads Guilty to Jeffrey Covington Murder

Megan Arellano — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:01:55 -0400

William Faison pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder while armed in connection with the shooting death of Jeffrey Covington; co-defendant Jeffrey Blount pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence in the case. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed all other charges.

According to the proffer of facts, shortly after 1 a.m. on July 2, 2011, at a craps game in the 600 block of 45th Place Southeast, Faison pulled a revolver from his waistband and pointed it at Blount's back. Blount ran and Faison chased him, with the gun in full view. Covington then pulled a broken gun and pointed it at Faison.

Faison then turned and fired one shot that hit Covington in the throat; the bullet punctured Covington's esophagus and severed his vertebrae.

Faison faces a sentence of five to 40 years in prison; he is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Ronna Beck August 16.

Plea documents are below.

Surviving Victim in Fatal Double Robbery Charged in Same Indictment as Murder Suspect

Laura Amico — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:13:55 -0400

A man who, along with Jeffrey Covington, was the subject of an armed robbery attempt that left Covington dead, has been charged alongside the shooter who is suspected of murder.

An indictment filed last week charges Jeffrey Blount with obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, and illegal possession of a firearm. The indictment states that Blount and Covington, known respectively as "Big Jeff" and "Lil' Jeff," were the subjects of a robbery perpetrated by William Faison. Faison is charged with first-degree felony murder.

Charging documents alleged that Faison was in pursuit of one of Covington’s buddies and had pushed Covington out of the way to better aim a gun at the friend. When the friend took off and Faison pursued him, Covington pulled out a gun and pointed it at Faison.

Surveillance video captured the entire exchange, which ended when Faison turned back towards Covington, who had a gun pulled, and fired at him, charging documents allege. The documents describe Covington’s weapon as broken, but it’s unclear if it was inoperable or if it was broken after Covington was shot.

A third person, Jefferson Joseph, is also charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the case.

Faison, Blount, and Joseph are scheduled to be arraigned on the charges next Friday, April 20.

The indictment is below.

"Substantial probability" found in Murder Case against William Faison

Chris Amico — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:11:19 -0400

Judge Lynn Leibovitz ruled Friday that there is substantial probability that William Faison committed first-degree murder when Jeffrey Covington was shot during a robbery attempt on a craps game. In making the ruling, she rejected defense claims that Faison was not the person responsible for the shooting and that, if he were, it would have been in self-defense.

Leibovitz ordered Faison held on the charge at least until a status hearing in the case on Dec. 15.

In court Friday, Homicide Detective Robert Arrington testified that Faison had been identified by witnesses as being present outside of building 605 at 46th Place, SE on July 2, and also on the surveillance footage obtained from the building.

He also said that Faison was later found in an apartment in building 605. In that same apartment, the .38 caliber revolver used to shoot Covington was found underneath the refrigerator.

Quillan questioned the validity of the identifications made by witnesses, based partly on the testimony given by one witness, who had identified the shooter as Maurice Roots, a man who was incarcerated the day of the shooting.

Arrington said that the same witness told police officers that Faison had identified himself to her as Roots.

Quillan also argued that one of the witnesses had a face-to-face view of the shooter but did not identify him as Faison. Arrington then told the court that this witness had said he had seen the shooter, but refused to identify anyone and was "uncooperative."

Quillan also raised the possibility that Covington was shot in self-defense. In video-footage of the crime, Covington could be seen aiming a 9mm pistol at his killer, who fired just one shot in self-defense. The gun that Covington was holding was later found to be inoperable but Quillan said that there was no way for the shooter to know this.

Judge Leibovitz ruled against a self-defense claim in the case, saying that because the shooting happened during a robbery of a craps game, and because she had heard evidence that Faison was the robber, that he could not make a claim to self-defense.

Charging documents in the case are here.

This post is by Evan Conway, a freelancer for Homicide Watch D.C. Evan originally hails from Galway on the west coast of Ireland. He now lives in Washington DC. He most recently worked as a Broadcast Desk Assistant at the PBS NewsHour. Evan has always seen journalism as a way of insuring accountability for everyone. He's on Twitter @evanconway88.

Preliminary Hearing Set for Aug 19 in Jeffrey Covington Homicide

Laura Amico — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:45:02 -0400

Twenty-one-year-old William Faison was ordered held yesterday on suspicion of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jeffrey Covington on July 2.

Charging documents allege that Faison, identified by witnesses, was in pursuit of one of Covington's buddies and had pushed Covington out of the way to better aim a gun at the friend. When the friend took off and Faison pursued him, Covington pulled out a gun and pointed it at Faison.

Surveillance video captured the entire exchange, which ended when Faison turned back towards Covington, who had a gun pulled, and fired at him, charging documents allege. The documents describe Covington's weapon as broken, but it's unclear if it was inoperable or if it was broken after Covington was shot.

One witness said the shooting took place during the robbery of a craps game.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 19 at 9:30 a.m.

Charging documents are below.

William Faison Arrested in Jeffrey Yarnell Covington Homicide

Laura Amico — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:42:55 -0400

A 21-year-old Southeast D.C. man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder for the shooting death of Jeffrey Yarnell Covington

MPD identified the suspect as William Faison.

A press release from MPD is after the jump.

August 2, 2011

Arrest Made in the Homicide of Jeffrey Yarnell Covington

( Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced that an arrest was made in the fatal shooting which occurred in the 600 block of 46th Place, SE.

On Saturday July 2, 2011, at approximately 1:30 am, units from the Sixth District responded to a shooting in the 600 block of 46th Place, SE. Upon arriving on the scene, officers located an adult male victim suffering from a gunshot wound. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel transported the victim to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injury and was pronounced dead.

The decedent has been identified as 19 year-old Jeffrey Yarnell Covington of Upper Marlboro, Md.

On Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at approximately 3:45 pm, members from the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 21-year-old William Faison of Southeast, Washington DC, pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant charging him with First Degree Murder while Armed.