Judge Ronna Beck sentenced William Faison to 25 years in prison Friday for the shooting death of 19-year-old Jeffrey Covington.
“I don’t think Mr. Faison set out to harm anybody,” Judge Beck said. “But when you go after someone with a firearm in your possession there is always the possibility that someone could get killed, and in fact somebody did get killed.”
Police found Covington on July 2, 2011, at approximately 1:30 a.m. on the 600 block of 46th Place Southeast suffering from a gunshot wound. He was later transported to a local hospital where he died. A month later, Faison, 23, was arrested and held on suspicion of first-degree murder while armed in Covington’s death.
Faison pleaded guilty in June to second-degree murder while armed. Covington’s father, Jeffrey Blount, was a co-defendant in the case and also pleaded guilty in June to tampering with physical evidence in the case.
Plea documents state that the morning of the murder Faison, Blount and Covington were at a craps game on the 600 block of 45th Place Southeast.
In the course of the game, Faison pulled a revolver from his waistband and pointed it at Blount’s back. When Blount ran, Faison chased him. Covington then pulled out a broken gun and pointed it at Faison. Faison turned and fired one shot hitting Covington in the throat, severing his vertebrae.
Prosecutors argued Friday that Faison was convicted of armed robbery just months before he shot and killed Covington, and pleaded with Judge Beck to give Faison the maximum sentence. But Faison’s defense attorney, Daniel Quillin, said that Faison has accepted responsibility for Covington’s death, and that the shooting was not a vicious attack, but a reflexive reaction.
Covington’s father, Blount, spoke to the court Friday in an angry verbal attack on the judicial system and Faison, the man who killed his son.
“The government is corrupt,” he said. “I don’t know [Faison], I never seen this dude but I wish the best for him. This dude made a mistake, a big mistake.”
A press release is below
United States Attorney’s Office
District of Columbia
U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.District Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison In 2011 Slaying in Southeast Washington
-Victim’s Father Pled Guilty to Tampering With Evidence at the Scene-WASHINGTON – William Faison, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 25 years of incarceration for the slaying of 19-year-old Jeffrey Covington during an attempted robbery in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced
Faison pled guilty in June 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second-degree murder while armed. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna Lee Beck. Upon completion of his prison term, Faison will be placed on five years of supervised release.
In a related development, the victim’s father, Jeffrey Blount, 43, also of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in June 2013 to a charge of tampering with physical evidence at the scene of the murder. Blount later was sentenced to five months of incarceration, but the time was suspended on the condition that he successfully completes a year of probation.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 2, 2011, Jeffrey Blount and his son were involved in a craps game in the 600 block of 46th Place SE. Shortly after 1 a.m., Faison, who was nearby, approached Blount while pulling a .38-caliber revolver from his waistband.
Faison pushed Mr. Covington aside to get to Blount and pointed the gun at Blount’s back in an attempt to rob him. Nearly everyone involved in the craps game, including Blount, fled. Faison chased after Blount, with his gun still drawn. Mr. Covington attempted to come to the aid of his father by pointing an inoperable weapon at Faison. Faison then turned back toward the victim and fired one shot at him, fatally striking him in the upper chest/throat.
Faison then fled into an apartment in a building on the block. Police sought and obtained a search warrant for that apartment on July 2, 2011, and they recovered a .38-caliber revolver with a spent shell casing inside. Faison was still in the apartment at the time of the recovery.
Following the murder, Blount returned to the scene, approached his son’s body, and attempted to remove currency from Mr. Covington’s pockets. He then checked his son’s pulse before moving the inoperable pistol from Mr. Covington’s side to a nearby trash can.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives, officers, and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Phaylyn Hunt, Fern Rhedrick, and Kendra Johnson and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen recognized Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melinda A. Williams, Jeffrey Pearlman, and Erik Kenerson, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
