A 21-year-old Hyattsville woman has pleaded guilty to killing Jason Liser in Northeast D.C. in 2009.
Takia Neeley faces up to 55 years in prison for second degree murder and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
A (reissued, corrected) press release from the US Attorneys Office is after the jump.
Maryland Woman Pleads Guilty to Murder And Weapons Charges In 2009 Slaying
- Claimed She Kept Shooting Victim So That He Could Not Identify Her -WASHINGTON - Takia Neeley, 21, of Hyattsville, Maryland, has pled guilty to charges in the September 2009 slaying of a man in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Neeley pled guilty on July 13, 2011 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to second degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The Honorable William M. Jackson scheduled sentencing for September 16, 2011. Neeley faces up to 40 years in prison for the murder charge and up to 15 years for the firearms charge.
According to the government’s factual proffer, on Sunday, September 13, 2009, at about 2:55 a.m., Neeley entered the courtyard area of an apartment complex in the 4000 block of Minnesota Avenue NE, armed with a firearm. She approached the victim, Jason Liser, 32, who had been sitting outside upon steps leading to one of the entrances.
After greeting Mr. Liser, she then pulled out the firearm, pointed it at him, and began shooting at him, striking him several times. She then walked away from the courtyard. The victim died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.
The defendant was arrested on September 29, 2009. Ultimately, Neeley acknowledged possessing a gun and shooting Mr. Liser. Among other things, she claimed that she did not mean to shoot him. She contended that, once the gun went off, she decided to keep shooting because she did not want Mr. Liser to be able to identify her.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), especially homicide Detectives Thomas Austin-Braxton, Brian Wise, and Lee Littlejohn. He also commended the work of MPD Mobile Crime Officers Leother Strong and Robert McCollum, and the forensic work of Firearms Examiner Michael Mulderig. Mr. Machen additionally commended the efforts of Marcey Rinker of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit, and Paralegal Marian Russell. Finally, he thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Gripkey, who indicted and prosecuted the case.
