A juvenile murder suspect has told the government that he, not Rashid Caviness-Bey, shot and killed 19-year-old Osman Al-Akbar near Meridian Hill Park in August.
According to a discovery letter filed at DC Superior Court in January, the juvenile told authorities that he and Caviness-Bey separated while walking down University Place the night Al-Akbar was killed. The juvenile did not tell Caviness-Bey what he was going to do, did not tell Caviness-Bey that he intended to commit a robbery, and did not know where Caviness-Bey was when he attempted to rob Al-Akbar.
The juvenile said he used two guns, shooting Al-Akbar with each, then ran over to Fuller Street to meet up with Caviness-Bey again.
According to charging documents in the case, Caviness-Bey and the juvenile, who has not been identified because of his age (he was 15 years old when he was arrested in August), had a “lengthy” conversation about the charges they were facing while being held in separate interrogation rooms before their arrests.
Said the juvenile:
On some real shit cuz. We all men. We can all go down for it and that don’t make sense. All of us could have been in for one junt and that don’t make no sense. I got too much going on.
Replied Caviness-Bey:
They was hitting us first.
Said the juvenile:
What’s that mean?
Said Caviness-Bey:
Hey, we was protecting ourselves man.
Said the juvenile:
Say what?
Said Caviness-Bey:
We was protecting ourselves.
Said the juvenile:
That’s ain’t gonna work. We gonna get burnt fucking around with that shit. Cuz, all of us in the same boat. If you cop, most they gonna give you is like 10. That’s better than 50.
Caviness-Bey is due in court for a status hearing on Feb. 10. He has not yet been indicted in the case.
