Jerome Bailey pleaded guilty today to second-degree murder in the shooting death of Rico Matthews, whom Bailey believed was having a relationship with a woman that he also saw.
By pleading guilty, Bailey faces a sentence of 16 to 20 years imprisonment.
According to charging documents in the case, the woman told authorities that Bailey upset because he believed she was having a sexual relationship Matthews. When she told Bailey that she had not had a relationship with Matthews, he
punched her in the eye, knocking her to the ground. The next day [Bailey] confronted [Matthews] again, stating ‘I’ll smoke his ass.’ … On the morning of Friday, November 5, 2010, [Bailey] called and accused her of arranging a sexual encounter with [Matthews] for $250.
At a preliminary hearing in December Metro Police Homicide Detective Truby testified that the shooting occurred in a known drug house that Bailey and Matthews both frequented and that officials with Metro Police’s Seventh District had a narcotics search warrant on the house when the shooting occurred.
A statement from the US Attorney’s Office issued Wednesday stated that the same day Matthews and Bailey argued about the woman,
Bailey located Matthews inside a single-family house in the 4000 block of First Street SE. When Bailey arrived, Matthews came downstairs and met him at the rear door. The two men had a heated argument inside the house. Bailey then shot Matthews multiple times with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol. As Matthews tried to run away, Bailey pursued him throughout the first floor of the house and continued to shoot at him, ultimately striking Matthews four times and resulting in the victim’s death.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 18.
From the US Attorney’s Office:
District Man Pleads Guilty to Murder In November 2010 Slaying in Southeast Washington
- Defendant Chased Victim, Firing a Semiautomatic Pistol -WASHINGTON - Jerome E. Bailey, 20, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a charge of second degree murder while armed in a slaying that took place last year in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Bailey entered the guilty plea in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz scheduled sentencing for November 18, 2011. Under terms of the plea agreement, which are subject to Judge Leibovitz’s approval, Bailey would face a sentence of between 16 and 20 years of imprisonment.
According to the government’s evidence, in the months preceding the murder, Bailey believed that the decedent, Rico Matthews, 36, had become involved in a sexual relationship with a woman with whom Bailey also was involved. Bailey repeatedly confronted the woman, who denied being in a relationship with Matthews. On Friday, November 5, 2010, Bailey called the woman and confronted her once again, and she again denied any such relationship. Bailey repeatedly called the woman and Matthews that morning.
Then, in the afternoon, Bailey located Matthews inside a single-family house in the 4000 block of First Street SE. When Bailey arrived, Matthews came downstairs and met him at the rear door. The two men had a heated argument inside the house. Bailey then shot Matthews multiple times with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol. As Matthews tried to run away, Bailey pursued him throughout the first floor of the house and continued to shoot at him, ultimately striking Matthews four times and resulting in the victim’s death.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Detectives Anthony Greene, Gabriel Truby, Joshua Branson, Norma Horne, James Wilson, and Gus Giannakoulias; and Officers Kiernan Speight and Sean Hodges, who investigated the case. He also expressed appreciation to Marcey Rinker, the advocate who worked with the victim’s family. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Waxman and Emily A. Miller, who prosecuted the case.
