A second suspect in connection with the 2011 murder of 56-year-old Leroy Studevant was arrested Tuesday.
Mark Anthony Coats, 28, of Northeast D.C. was arrested Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder while armed in connection Studevant’s death.
Police found Studevant dead in Marvin Gaye Park on December 31, 2011, with a broken knife blade under his body and a belt around his neck. Alex Cater was held in connection with the case last year.
A press relase from MPD is below.
Arrest Made in Homicide in the 4200 Block of Hunt Place, NE
(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced that an arrest has been made in the strangulation and stabbing homicide of Leroy Studevant that occurred in the 4200 block of Hunt Place, NE.
On Saturday, December 31, 2011, shortly after 7:30 am, units from the Sixth District responded to the 4200 block of Hunt Place, NE for the report of an unconscious male near a creek under a pathway. Personnel from DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services also responded to the scene and determined the male had no signs of life. He was later pronounced dead by a member of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. On Sunday, January 1, 2012, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the manner of death as homicide. The cause of death was ruled as strangulation associated with piercing blunt force trauma.
The decedent was identified as 56 year-old Leroy Studevant of Northeast, DC.
On Friday, May 18, 2012, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested an adult male of Northeast, DC pursuant to an arrest warrant and charged him with Murder Two while Armed in the homicide of Leroy Studevant.
On Tuesday, June 11, 2013, members of the Capitol Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant, arrested 28 year-old Mark Anthony Coats of Northeast, DC, charging him with First Degree Murder While Armed in the homicide of Leroy Studevant.
