A Maryland man charged with the “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” killing of another on Minnesota Avenue in Aug. 2011 has pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the case.
Ricardo Mitchell entered the plea to second-degree murder while armed in court Tuesday, saying that he shot and killed Wyatt Earp Robinson after the two “exchanged words.”
Mitchell signed a statement of evidence in the case, agreeing that he
ran from the front porch of the house with a gun in his hand and up the sidewalk, toward Minnesota Ave., and after [Robisnon]. [He] caught up with [Robinson] when [Robinson] was approximately five feet from his vehicle, whereupon [Mitchell] confronted [Robinson] and then shot [him] several times. After shooting [Robinson], who had nothing in his hands but his cell phone, [Mitchell] began to walk away, but turned back toward [Robinson] and fired another shot at [him]. A total of nine .40 caliber cartridge casings were found on the scene by police, and all were fired from the same firearm. An autopsy revealed nine gunshot wounds to [Robinson’s] body.
An MPD officer, who was romantically linked with Mitchell and witnessed the shooting, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and neglect of an officer to make an arrest just over a year ago.
According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, Mitchell faces a statutory minimum of 40 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for sentencing June 28.
Plea documents related to this case will be added to this post Wednesday.
A press release from the US Attorney’s Office is below
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Charges In August 2011 Slaying in Northeast Washington -Defendant Chased Victim and Shot Him Numerous Times-
WASHINGTON – Ricardo Mitchell, 33, of Temple Hills, Md., pled guilty today to a charge of second-degree murder while armed in a slaying that took place in August 2011 in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Mitchell entered the plea in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He also pled guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz scheduled sentencing for June 28, 2013. Mitchell faces a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison on the murder charge and up to five additional years for the weapons offense.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early evening of Aug. 21, 2011, Mitchell was outside a residence in the 3900 block of Clay Place NE when he exchanged words with the victim, Wyatt Earp Robinson. Mr. Robinson, 33, walked away. Mr. Robinson headed toward his vehicle, where his girlfriend and four-year-old child were waiting.
Mitchell then ran into the residence. He returned outside and ran from the front porch of the house with a gun in his hand and up the sidewalk, toward Minnesota Avenue, and after Mr. Robinson. He caught up with Mr. Robinson when the victim was approximately five feet from his vehicle. At that point, Mitchell confronted Mr. Robinson and shot him several times.
After shooting Mr. Robinson, who had nothing in his hands but his cellphone, the defendant began to walk away, but turned back toward the victim and fired another shot at him. A total of nine .40-caliber cartridge casings were found on the scene by police, and all were fired from the same firearm. An autopsy revealed nine gunshot wounds to Mr. Robinson’s body.
Following the shooting, Mitchell fled into and through the residence on Clay Street NE. He exited through the residence’s back door and fled the scene on a motorcycle.
After shooting and killing Mr. Robinson, Mitchell fled to a storage facility in Forestville, Md., where he hid the motorcycle that he used to flee the crime scene. The defendant is captured on surveillance footage from that storage facility wearing the same clothes that he was seen wearing at the time of the murder. Mitchell was arrested on Aug. 24, 2011.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigator Durand Odom, Victim/Advocate Marcia Rinker and Paralegal Specialists Mia Beamon and Kendra Johnson. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reagan M. Taylor, Teresa Howie and Stephen J. Gripkey, who prosecuted the matter.
Plea documents have been added to this post.
