Homicide Watch D.C.

One hundred and thirty one names are on Metro PD’s list of people who were killed in D.C. in 2010. Ja-Kai Wilson, just four months old at the time of death, was the city’s youngest homicide victim; Irvan Jackson, a 68-year-old Oxen Hill, Md man, was the city’s oldest.

Homicide Watch has pulled information on the cases from Metro Police press releases and reward posters, city records from the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, press reports and queries to D.C. Metro Police Spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump. The result is a spreadsheet that is not complete, but that we are satisfied gives a more complete view of how murder cases were prosecuted in 2010 as well as who died, when and where.

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More on this in the morning, but Metro Police Spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump e-mailed over a list of D.C.’s homicide victims and information on the remaining nine cases Homicide Watch was still having trouble finding information about.

First the names Homicide Watch was not able to track down. According to Crump, those victims are: Ja-Kai Wilson, Herbert Johnson, Kourtnie Mitchell, Patricia Ann Martin, Bernard Lewis, Gregory Daniels, Vladimir Djordjevic and Dominic Simmons.

Crump also responded that a homicide listed in the homicide database did not exist.

2/12 no homicide reported in the 1400 block of L Street SE. At this location on this date there was an assault with a dangerous weapon (knife) CCN 017-814

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As 2010 drew to a close, Metro Police and local media had their eyes on D.C.’s total number of homicides in the year and, as 2011 dawned, announced and celebrated a nine percent decline in the number over last year.

Said Metro Police Chief Cathy Lanier in a press release,

“I am thankful for the dedication and hard work of the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department, and the commitment from our partners in the community and other government agencies, that are helping us to make the city safer. I especially want to commend the members of the Homicide Branch for their efforts and the intelligence and patrol units for their increased work.”

The nine percent decline — from 143 deaths to 131 — constitues D.C.’s lowest homicide count since 1963 but does not meet Lanier’s goal of reducing the number to under 100.
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Update Friday 11:30 a.m.: We still haven’t found any information on nine remaining homicide cases.

Metro Police Spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said this morning that she would get back to us on Monday.

In the meantime, I put it out to you. Here’s the list of cases Homicide Watch D.C. still hasn’t been able to reconcile. Here’s where they are.

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A big thanks to Rend Smith at City Paper for taking a look at Homicide Watch’s database of 2010 D.C. homicides and getting answers from Chief Cathy Lanier and Public Information Officer Gwendolyn Crump on what what wrong.

Homicide Watch posted the database yesterday in two sheets- the first listing all 2010 homicides in the District according to Metro Police press releases, FBI press releases, and media reports, the second page pulled data from OCTO, D.C.’s office of technology. The first page listed 113 homicides, the second 131.

Said City Paper:

A quick count of the press releases on MPD’s website backed up Homicide Watch’s theory the numbers didn’t add up. Homicides usually earn an announcement by the department. Often, MPD will ask for the public’s help solving the case, so the idea of 18 slayings falling through the cracks is a big deal.

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These are some of the reports, pages and blog posts I had bookmarked this year. Read more

A few hints on getting the most out of Homicide Watch D.C.’s database of homicides in the District in 2010.
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Who do we remember as we enter 2011? Which cases will stay with you?

One hundred and thirty one people died on D.C. streets this year, nearly three quarters of them in gun violence. Of the victims whose identities were released, 14 13 victims were under the age of 18 at the time of their deaths, 25 24 were under the age of 20.

We remember some more easily than others. The deaths of Ebony Franklin and Angel Morse, both in Northwest D.C., captured our attention. Raj Patel, killed in a robbery attempt on his grocery in Brookland; Larry Hutchins, shot to death at work at D.C.’s Department of Public Works; Neil Godleski, a Catholic University student killed while bicycling home in Petworth; the violence of their deaths seemed to feel like more tragedy than many could stand.

But there were so many other deaths, too.

Homicide Watch D.C. has compiled a database of D.C.’s homicides this year using Metro Police Department and FBI press releases as well as press reports. The second page of the database pulls homicide data from OCTO, D.C.’s office of technology. We’ve spent the better part of a week reconciling the two different spreadsheets. As you’ll see, OCTO reports 131 homicides— the same number used by Metro Police in their most recent homicide count. In a search of public documents, however, we found 113 homicides and we have not been able to determine the status of the 18 homicides reported by OCTO that have not been reported by Metro Police or the press. More on this in another post soon.

Homicide Watch D.C. is going to parse these numbers over the next few days, and bring you updates on some of the cases. We hope you might do the same.

Consider this your open invitation to collaborate. Have we missed a case? Is there a name or an age you can contribute? What about a photo for our gallery? Leave a link, leave a memory, leave an update on a case.

To add or make changes to the spreadsheet or to add a photo, email Laura Amico at homicidewatchdc [at] gmail.com. Comments are open, with the usual guidelines, for everything else. To view the spreadsheet as a full page, go to its public page on Google Docs.

For tips on how to use the spreadsheets, including how to sort columns and what the different highlighted fields mean, view this post.

Metro Police announced arrests in two homicide cases from 2009 yesterday; 36-year-old Lamar Smith and 18-year-old Hiawatha Henry. Both men are charged with first degree murder.

Smith was arrested on suspicion of killing 40-year-old Joseph Barton on Feb. 6, 2009 in the 1300 block of Fort Stevens Drive in Northwest D.C. Barton was shot to death.

Henry was arrested on suspicion of killing his seven-week-old son, Hiawatha Jackson. Jackson was found unresponsive on August 29, 2009 and was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead. An autopsy concluded that the death was a homicide.
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Dear Readers,
Homicide Watch D.C.’s fundraising effort on Spot.Us has only eight more days. We’re hoping you might take a moment from wrapping your presents to help us wrap up our project.

Please consider a donation to Homicide Watch D.C. Your money will help us improve this site by adding a fully searchable complete library of court documents for murder cases in the District of Columbia.

Pledge a cash donation or click “free credits” to support our efforts.

Thank you and happy holidays.
-Laura Amico, Editor, Homicide Watch D.C.