Calvin Monroe was sentenced today to 23 years in prison for the shooting death of 27-year-old Lonnie Whitted.
Monroe, 33, pleaded guilty in in September to a charge of second-degree murder while armed in connection with the case.
According to charging documents in the case, Whitted was friends with Monroe’s brother “Pete,” but that the friendship broke up when Pete fired a gun into the air and Whitted took the gun from him. Pete, charging documents state, was detained in connection with the argument over the weapon, and was only released two days before Whitted was killed.
On July 7, Whitted and Pete were in a fist fight over the gun, when Monroe walked over to them and shot at Whitted, killing him.
A press release from the US Attorney’s Office is below.
District Man Sentenced to 23-Year Prison Term In Slaying Last Year in Southeast Washington - Fired Gunshots as Victim Tried to Flee, Hitting Him in the Back -
WASHINGTON - Calvin Monroe, 33, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 23 years of incarceration for killing a man last summer in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Monroe, also known as “Dough,” pled guilty in September 2011 to a charge of second degree murder while armed. He was sentenced by the Honorable William M. Jackson in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
According to the government’s evidence, Monroe had known the victim, Lonnie Whitted, 27, for several years. In the months preceding the murder, Monroe and his brother had been engaged in an ongoing dispute with Whitted. At about 12:15 a.m. on July 7, 2011, Monroe’s brother and Whitted got into a fist fight in the 1900 block of 18th Street SE. Calvin Monroe then walked to the two men and began firing a handgun at Whitted. As Whitted, unarmed, fled across the street, Calvin Monroe continued to fire the gun. Whitted eventually collapsed and died from his injuries. He had been shot three times in the back.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the Metropolitan Police Department’s Violent Crimes Branch, along with MPD Detectives King Watts and Charles Fultz. U.S. Attorney Machen also praised the work of paralegal Fern Rhedrick. Lastly, Mr. Machen thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Pearlman, who investigated the case.
