Two men suspected of fatally shooting Demetrius Emmanuel Thompson on board a Metro bus last month have been returned to the District from Florida, where they were arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder
Delron Atchison, 22, known as “Dale,” and Vincent Gray, 21, known as “Vinny,” appeared in DC Superior Court Tuesday and were each ordered held pending a preliminary hearing.
They were arrested in Orlando, Fl. on Oct. 25, five days after Thompson was killed.
Charging documents in the case draw largely on surveillance video from the W4 Metro bus which was stopped at 2125 Alabama Avenue Southeast when the shooting took place. That video is described in the charging documents as follows:
During the investigation, investigators were able to obtain video footage from inside and outside of the Metro Bus. Upon viewing the video footage, [Thompson] is observed getting on the Metro bus around the 1500 block of Alabama Avenue, Southeast. When [Thompson] gets on the bus he is observed wearing a red hooded jacket and holding what appears to be a shirt. [Thompson] then walks to the bench seat across from the rear door. [Thompson] is not wearing a shirt. After making another stop, the bus travels to the bus stop in front of 2125 Alabama Avenue, Southeast. Once stopped at the bus stop, several passengers exit the bus.
[Gray], who appears to be a darker skinned black male with a neck length dreadlock style hairdo and wearing a blue and grey striped shirt, is observed getting on the bus and [Atchison] is observed poking his head onto the bus and then starting to walk towards the back of the bus on the outside. [Gray] is observed pointing towards the back of the bus, where [Thompson] is located, and then turns towards the outside of the bus, appearing to say something to [Atchison].
A bus passenger told police that when Gray boarded the bus he said, “I ain’t getting on the bus, I’m just trying to see if someone was on the bus.”
Then he was reported to have said, “Yo, get off the bus. Don’t make me have to cause a scene on the bus.”
The video surveillance shows Atchison boarding the bus. The charging documents state:
[Atchison], who appears to be a slightly taller lighter skinned black male with a shoulder length dreadlock style hairdo and wearing a grey long sleeved t-shirt, then gets on the bus and [Gray] and [Atchison] quickly walk together to the back of the bus towards [Thompson].
[Thompson] is observed getting up from his seat and looking indecisive as he appears he wants to run, but has nowhere to go. [Atchison], who is walking in front of [Gray], is observed holding a silver and black semi automatic pistol.
[Thompson] is observed trying to hide on the seat behind a Plexiglass barrier where another passenger is seated.
As [Thompson] is trying to hide, [Atchison] is pointing the gun at him and [Gray] is directly behind and within inches of [Atchison]. [Thompson] appears to be shot and then falls to the ground. Both suspects then flee from the bus through the rear doors.
Also according to charging documents, a witness told police that when asked if he had killed Thompson, Gray said, “No I didn’t, it was Dale, I was fighting this guy and he tried to stab me and Dale and him got into it and when we got on the bus Dale just snapped.”
Gray and Atchison are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Nov. 18 with Judge Motley.
Charging documents are below.
