Judge John Ramsey Johnson sentenced Decordre Franklin to 15 years in prison Friday for the shooting death of 33-year-old Irving Jones Jr.
“There was no sense to it,” Judge Johnson said. “It was a completely senseless thing to shoot Irving Jones.”
Police found Jones on March 30 around 2:00 a.m. lying on a sidewalk near a playground in the 600 block of Edgewood Street Northeast suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. He later died at a local hospital. Franklin, 37, was arrested about a week later and charged with second-degree murder while armed.
Franklin pleaded guilty in June to voluntary manslaughter while armed in connection with Jones’ death.
Plea documents state that the morning of the murder Jones and Franklin got into a physical altercation outside of the Edgewood Terrace apartment complex. When the fight ended the two men began arguing. Franklin pulled out a handgun and shot Jones in the chest at close range and then fled the scene.
During sentencing Friday, Jones’ mother spoke to the court.
With tears running down her face she expressed how much she missed her son and that she felt the plea agreement was not enough. She then turned in the direction of Franklin telling him that she will never forgive him.
“How dare you? How could you do that to him?” she said.
Prosecutors in the case said Friday that Franklin had a history of alcohol related crimes and that the day Jones was shot, Franklin was drunk. He has not shown remorse for Jones’ death, prosecutors said. But Franklin’s defense attorney, Joseph Caleb, said Franklin knew Jones well, and the fact that he accepted the plea shows he was sorry and that he didn’t want to put Jones’ family through a trial.
Franklin turned to address the Jones family, seated throughout the courtroom.
“I’m sorry big Irv, I’m sorry Sean, I can’t take things back,” he said. “I don’t know if you gone forgive me or not but, I just can’t get over it.”
A press release from the US Attorney’s Office is below.
District Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
For Fatal Shooting in Northeast Washington
-Defendant Shot Victim During Argument in Edgewood Terrace Area -WASHINGTON – Decordre Franklin, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 15 years in prison on a charge stemming from a fatal shooting that took place earlier this year in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Franklin pled guilty in June 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to voluntary manslaughter while armed in the slaying of Irving Jones. He was sentenced by the Honorable John Ramsey Johnson. Upon completion of his prison term, Franklin will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning of March 30, 2013, Franklin was seen in a yard at Edgewood Terrace, within the 600 block of Edgewood Street NE, carrying and playing with a handgun. Afterward, Franklin and Mr. Jones, 33, hung out together with others in the same vicinity. During that time, Mr. Jones and Franklin engaged in a brief physical altercation, which has been described by some witnesses as horseplay. After the altercation ended at approximately 2:10 a.m., Franklin then argued verbally with Mr. Jones.
While yelling at Mr. Jones, Franklin pulled out a handgun and shot him in the chest at close range. He then fled. Mr. Jones collapsed to the ground and died shortly afterward.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division, crime scene officers, and the Fifth Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim Witness Program Specialist Marcia Rinker and Paralegal Specialist Marian Russell. He also praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana L. Fulton, who prosecuted the case.
