Antonio Hester, 30, was ordered held without bond Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree premeditated murder while armed in connection with the shooting death of Tracy McFadden.
McFadden, 44, was found by police in Jan. 2013 outside a nightclub on the 2700 Block of Georgia Avenue Northwest, suffering from six gunshot wounds, including four to his neck. He was taken to Howard University Hospital where he died at 2:55 a.m., less than half an hour after police spotters first detected the gunfire.
Charging documents say that a witness who was “romantically involved” with Hester at the time of the incident saw him arguing with McFadden inside the Chuck and Billy nightclub located on Georgia Avenue Northwest.
When the witness got outside, it saw the McFadden lying unresponsive on the ground next to a vehicle, but did not see Hester. The witness then called Hester’s cell phone, picked him up two blocks north of the nightclub, and drove him to an address in Maryland, according to police documents.
That witness asked Hester if he saw McFadden lying on the ground in front of the nightclub, he responded, “Yeah that’s f**ked up. He asked for it, he deserved it,” according to police.
According to charging documents, another witness that night saw the shooter fire on McFadden, then watched the shooter fire more shots down at him.
A second witness who was saw the shooting while standing outside the nightclub gave a description of the shooter to police similar to the other witness, charging documents say. That witness said it saw the shooter with his arm extended pointing downward toward a vehicle in front of the nightclub.
A third witness told police it knew McFadden for some 25 years and was present at the nightclub before the shooting. This witness said McFadden was intoxicated and disrespectful to people. Charging documents say the witness said it told Hester, “Get yourself together and calm down.”
Defense attorney Amanda David said that witness is not reliable because the only reason it came forward was because it believed it was a suspect. David argued that witness “has a motive to fabricate.” David also noted that the two witnesses who gave a description of the suspect did not identify Hester as the shooter.
David asked the judge to release Hester on his promise to return to court, because he is currently working two jobs, and is responsible for the care of his 13-year-old daughter. Judge Howze ruled Hester was a danger to the community based on two previous weapon related convictions and his prior manslaughter conviction in Maryland.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 14 at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Rhonda Winston.
***Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the location of the Chuck and Billy nightclub. We regret the error.
Charging Documents have been added to this post
