Keyon Caldwell was ordered held today pending a preliminary hearing on a charge of second degree murder while armed; his defense attorney shushing him through much of the proceedings.
“Can I say something?” Caldwell asked, partially raising a shackled hand.
“I’m not denying anything,” he said several times moments later as attorneys debated the merits of the case.
Caldwell was arrested Wednesday night in an apartment on 24th Street in Northeast DC. Police say he shot and killed 30-year-old Draynell Paul Henderson just after 8 p.m. that night.
According to charging documents in the case, just prior to the shooting, Henderson entered Caldwell’s 24th St. Northeast apartment and told Caldwell “I got something good for us.” The two men then left the apartment together. About 15 minutes later a witness, who was in the apartment’s bedroom, heard gunshots. The witness locked the bedroom door and yelled for help. A minute later the witness opened the door, went into the living room, and saw Caldwell lying on the floor clutching a handgun. Henderson was lying just outside the front door, gasping for breath.
When police officers arrived on the scene, both men were still lying on the floor. One of the first officers to arrive on the scene believed that Caldwell was under the influence of PCP. Henderson was pronounced dead later that evening.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for the case April 20 with Judge Thomas Motley.
Charging documents in the case are below.
