The U.S. State’s Attorney’s Office today announced the conviction of 21-year-old Antwon Holcomb on first degree murder charges in the death of Anthony Perkins, 29.
District Man Convicted of First Degree Felony Murder While Armed, Killed Victim in December 2009 Robbery
WASHINGTON - Antwon Holcomb, 21, was convicted today by a jury of first degree (felony) murder while armed and other charges in a killing that took place during a robbery in December 2009 in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Holcomb, of Washington, D.C., also was convicted of charges of armed robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and carrying a pistol without a license outside the home. The verdict followed a five-day trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Sentencing was scheduled for May 5, 2011, before the Honorable Lee F. Satterfield, Chief Judge. The defendant faces a sentence of at least 30 years in prison.The evidence at trial showed that Holcomb, a convicted felon, made calls to a “chat line,” at about 3 a.m. on December 27, 2009, using a phone inside 500 Lebaum Street SE. According to the government’s evidence, Holcomb was hoping to find a gay man who would agree to meet him - and who he could then rob.
The victim, Anthony Perkins, 29, who was gay, made contact with the defendant on the line. Holcomb convinced Mr. Perkins to drive to 500 Lebaum Street.
When Mr. Perkins pulled up in front of that address, at about 4:45 a.m., Holcomb armed himself with a .380 caliber handgun, walked outside, and got into Mr. Perkins’s car. After driving around for several minutes, the defendant shot the victim one time in the head, grabbed a pack of cigarettes that was in the car, and fled.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) found the car about 20 minutes later, with the engine running, parked in the 2900 block of Fourth Street. Mr. Perkins’s body was in the driver’s seat.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his gratitude to MPD Detectives Michael Fulton, Ray Shields, John Bolden, William Covington, and Don Monroe; MPD Officers Tom Ellingsworth, Eric Walsh, Michael Kasco, Travis Coley, Stanley Rembish, Joy Preston, Edward Wise, and Ralph Nitz; MPD Mobile Crime Technician Nina Sylvester; MPD Latent Fingerprint Examiners Barbara Evans and Willie Higginbotham, and Dr. Joseph Pestaner of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He also thanked Ripple Communications and the Kentucky Telephone Company for assistance provided in the case.
U.S. Attorney Machen also praised those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Joe Calvarese and Paul Howell of the Litigation Technology Section; Marcy Rinker and Debra Cannon of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit and paralegal Sandra Lane. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ortwein, who assisted with the earlier phases of the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Liebman and Steven Swaney, who tried the case.
