From the US Attorney’s Office:
Cousins Found Guilty of First Degree Murder While Armed, Other Charges in 2008 Slaying in Northwest Washington - Defendants Believed Victim Had Killed Family Member -
WASHINGTON - Gary Dickens, 41, and, his cousin, Antwarn “Tony” Fenner, 37, were convicted by a jury today of murder and conspiracy charges in the slaying of a man they believed had killed one of their family members, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Dickens, formerly of Bowie, Md., and Fenner, formerly of Hyattsville, Md., were convicted following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Jennifer M. Anderson, who presided at trial, set sentencing for December 5, 2011. The defendants face a statutory maximum term of life imprisonment.
According to the government’s evidence at trial, on July 8, 2008, April Dickens, 34, was stabbed and killed at her home in Prince George’s County, Maryland. At the time, April Dickens was estranged from her husband, Gary Dickens, with whom she had three children.Prince George’s County police initially focused on Gary Dickens as a potential suspect. However, the authorities soon learned that April Dickens had recently ended a relationship with Stanley Daniels, 48. The police continued their investigation with a renewed focus on Daniels.
As of August 8, 2008, Prince George’s County police were actively investigating the murder, but had not yet arrested Stanley Daniels for it. The Dickens family understood that the police were waiting for the results of certain forensic tests to determine whether, in fact, Daniels was responsible for the murder. The Dickens family and friends of the Dickens family firmly believed that Daniels, of Washington, D.C., was responsible for the murder of April Dickens.
According to the evidence presented at trial, on August 8, 2008, at approximately 7:50 p.m., a member of the Dickens family, Eddie Pitts, observed Daniels parked in a green Range Rover in the 3500 block of Georgia Avenue NW. Immediately after making this sighting, Pitts placed several calls to Gary Dickens and Fenner, informing them of Daniels’s whereabouts.
Following these phone calls, Gary Dickens and Fenner traveled to the 3500 block of Georgia Avenue. Shortly after 9 p.m., Fenner arrived in the area, where he met with Pitts and discussed how to carry out the murder of Daniels.
Meanwhile, according to the government’s evidence, Gary Dickens, together with other unidentified individuals, also headed to the area of the 3500 block of Georgia Avenue. Gary Dickens met with Fenner and Pitts and further discussed how to execute the murder.
Following this conversation, at approximately 9:20 p.m., Fenner approached Daniels, who was seated in the driver’s seat of his vehicle in the 3500 block of Georgia Avenue NW, and he fired a nine-millimeter firearm nine times in the direction of the victim. Daniels sustained six gunshot wounds, which resulted in his death.
Immediately after the murder, Fenner fled into an alley on the west side of the 3500 block of Georgia Avenue NW, and with the pre-arranged assistance of Pitts, fled from the scene. Gary Dickens, and other unidentified individuals, also left the scene of the crime.
A short time later, Fenner and Pitts met at a second location and discussed whether and how to dispose of the .firearm that Fenner had used to kill Daniels.
Pitts, now 28, earlier pled guilty to charges in the case and is awaiting sentencing.
In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), especially Detectives Robert Arrington and Dwayne Partment. He also commended the work of MPD Mobile Crime Officers Tina Ramadhan and Ronald Royster, and Third District Officer Joshua Wells. Mr. Machen additionally praised the extraordinary work of Paralegals Alesha Matthews and Sharon Newman, Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, Victim Witness Advocates Marcia Rinker, David Foster, Michael Hailey, Shawn Slade, and Deborah Cannon, as well as Law Clerk Louis Manzo. Finally, he recognized the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
