The death of a man at a Kenilworth Avenue Northeast towing company has been ruled a homicide, bringing the total number of homicides in DC in 2013 to 106.
According to charging documents in the case, Kevin Lewis Crouch was struck by a tow truck at the yard after he tried to rob people there. The driver of the tow truck, Corey Stoddard, is suspected of second-degree murder.
Documents allege that Crouch attempted to rob Stoddard and others with a handgun at Collision Towing Company where Stoddard worked, but Stoddard ran to a truck and tried to drive away. When Crouch chased him, Stoddard ran over Crouch with the tow truck and dragged him approximately 100 feet, police say.
Crouch was pronounced dead Tuesday afternoon at Prince George’s County Community Hospital.
Stoddard appeared in D.C. Superior Court Wednesday. He was ordered released to high-intensity supervision until a preliminary hearing scheduled for January 22.
According to a witness who works with Stoddard, Crouch came up to the two men and asked about a towed vehicle.
Stoddard told police that Crouch was looking for a green car, but Stoddard told him there was no green car at the lot, charging documents say. When Stoddard asked Crouch who him told to pick his car at the lot, Crouch said, “My b***h, told me my car was here,” according to the charging document.
Stoddard said that Crouch then pulled a dark handgun from his clothes and pointed it at Stoddard, his coworker, and a customer, saying he intended to rob the men.
Both Stoddard and the other witness immediately turned and ran. Stoddard slipped and fell. According to Stoddard, Crouch ran up to him on the ground and struck him twice on the head with the gun.
Stoddard told police that he threw his wallet in the opposite direction and ran to his tow truck. When Crouch chased him, Stoddard ran him over, he told police.
According to MPD’s official statement differs in this account from the charging documents written by detectives. According to MPD’s statement, Crouch was fleeing.
“The decedent subsequently fled the scene on foot while the tow crane operator entered his tow crane and drove in the direction of the decedent, striking him with the tow crane,” the statement reads.
A copy of the charging document is below, along with MPD’s press release.
Arrest Made in Homicide: 1300 Block of Kenilworth Avenue, NE
(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced that an arrest has been made in the homicide which occurred in the 1300 block of Kenilworth Avenue, Northeast.
On Tuesday, December 31, 2013, at approximately 12:44 pm, members of the Sixth District responded to the 1300 block of Kenilworth Avenue, Northeast for the report of a pedestrian struck. Upon arrival, they located an adult male with significant injuries. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services transported the victim to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The decedent was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Baltimore, Maryland, pending an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
A detailed investigation revealed that a tow crane operator was robbed and assaulted by the decedent. The decedent subsequently fled the scene on foot while the tow crane operator entered his tow crane and drove in the direction of the decedent, striking him with the tow crane.
The decedent is identified as 22 year-old Kevin Lewis Crouch of Southeast, Washington, DC.
On Tuesday, December 31, 2013, members of the Homicide Branch arrested the tow crane operator who was positively identified as 35-year-old Corey Dion Stoddard of Northeast, Washington, DC charging him with Second Degree Murder in connection to the death of Kevin Lewis Crouch.
