The deaths of two 19-year-old DC men have been determined to be “justified” by MPD and will not be included in this year’s count of homicide victims.
The men, Stephen Horsley and Dalontray Williams, were killed in separate incidents two weeks apart in January.
Horsley, a Northeast DC man, was shot and killed on Friday, Jan. 13, just after 11 p.m. in the 4600 block of Benning Road, Southeast.
Williams, of Northwest DC, went to the Kennedy Recreation Center on 7th Street NW after being stabbed; police believe he was stabbed about a block away. He was transported from the rec center to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
MPD Spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said this week that both their deaths were determined to be “justified by citizen.”
Sources familiar with the cases said the investigations concluded with this ruling.
They said Horsley was shot while allegedly committing a robbery and that Williams was stabbed in a fight. A records request to MPD regarding the cases was denied pending a formal request. The US Attorney’s Office also declined to provide documentation of the cases.
A grand jury was called to investigate Williams’ death but the USAO did not proceed with the case, a source said. It’s not clear whether a grand jury ever investigated Horsley’s death.
According to court records, Horsley had never been arrested or charged as an adult in any case. Williams was arrested in July on suspicion of misdemeanor drug possession and the case was dismissed. Juvenile records are sealed. A source familiar with the cases said neither man had extensive criminal histories, nor were they known to be significantly involved in criminal activity.
Justifiable homicide cases, while rare, are not entirely uncommon in DC. In Dec. 2011 the death of Army veteran Patrick Casey was determined to be justified.
Casey, 33, was a graduate student at George Washington University and had served in Afghanistan. He died in Sept. 2011 after being involved in a fight at a McDonald’s on M Street Northwest. MPD’s investigation showed that Casey was the initial aggressor in the fight.
Horsley and Williams are not included in MPD’s current homicide count, which is 28.
