During a preliminary hearing Thursday, Judge Jennifer Anderson found probable cause to hold David Washington on suspicion of first-degree murder while armed in connection to the shooting death of 18-year-old Deangelo Gatling.
On Jan. 12, 2014 Gatling was found by police at the 2300 block of 24th Street Southeast suffering from a gunshot wound to the back that perforated his left lung. He was transported to Howard University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:35 p.m. that day.
Washington was arrested four weeks later. Charging documents say that six witnesses, video evidence, and a blue Grand Marquis, which belongs to Washington’s brother, connect him to the shooting.
According to charging documents, a witness talking with Gatling and another person in the 2300 block of Altamont Place, Southeast saw Washington in the passenger seat of a blue Grand Marquis.
The witness told police Gatling said, “There go those bitch-ass dudes,” as the car passed them. Then, as Gatling and the other person walked away from the witness towards Good Hope Road Southeast, the blue Grand Marquis also drove towards Good Hope Road Southeast, according to the witness. At that time, the witness said it clearly observed Washington in the car.
Documents say that the person who was with Gatling saw a man exit the passenger side of the car, put on a mask, and begin following them. After they crossed Good Hope Road Southeast, the two men began to run and the masked man chased them, according to the witness.
The two men ran to the front door of a building, banging on the front door for someone to let them in, when the man began firing at them, documents say. Once the door opened, the witness and Gatling fell to the floor as the shooter kept firing at them.
Later, the person with Gatling provided police with a photograph of Washington after hearing neighborhood discussions that the person who shot at them was a man known as “Tiny.” The person with Gatling told police that it wasn’t wearing corrective lens at the time of the shooting, but “Tiny’s” picture matched his recollection of the man who shot Gatling.
Police later retrieved video footage from the apartment complex that showed Gatling and another person being chased by a gunman wearing a dark colored jacket, a white shirt, blue jeans and a mask.
Three other witnesses who heard the shots and observed the shooter running away from the apartment complex provided a similar clothing description.
A felony status conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on May 23.
A copy of Washington’s arrest documents can be found below.
