Brandon Miller was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison for second-degree murder and conspiracy in connection with the shooting death of 21-year-old Jamal Coates. He is the fourth and final man to be sentenced for Coates’ death. On Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Gee said that Miller’s decision to plead made him “one of … Read more →
Judge Lynn Leibovitz sentenced Keir Johnson Friday to 54 years in prison, including 32 years for the shooting death of Jamal Coates. “Taking lives is the most tragic thing you can do and it’s distressing to see Mr. Johnson, who could have done anything, in this position,” Leibovitz said before delivering her sentencing. Johnson, along … Read more →
“These defendants are our city’s children, the verdicts against them are heartbreaking, the lives that they took were valued and the loss of those victims is heartbreaking,” Judge Lynn Leibovitz said before delivering the sentences of Robert Givens, Marcellus Jackson, and Lester Williams. The three men, along with Keir Johnson were convicted of multiple criminal … Read more →
Marcellus Jackson was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder and related charges in connection with the 2010 shooting death of Jamal Coates. Coates, 21, was killed in September 2010 while he and friends were leaving the funeral of Ashley McRae, a friend who had also been shot and killed. Prosecutors alleged in an indictment that … Read more →
Keir Johnson and Lester Williams were found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and other weapons, conspiracy, and criminal street gang offenses Friday in connection to the shooting death of Jamal Coates. Coates, 21, was shot and killed in September 2010 while leaving a friend’s funeral in the U Street corridor. The incident happened … Read more →
For nearly four months, jurors have heard evidence in the case charging Keir Johnson and Lester Williams with the shooting death of Jamal Coates, who was killed leaving a friend’s funeral in the U Street corridor in September 2010. Prosecutors argued that Johnson and Williams, along with Robert Givens and Marcellus Jackson are linked by … Read more →
The murder of Jamal Coates is “not a case where there is someone that was shot in a dark alley and no one will ever be able to tell who did it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Gee said his closing arguments Wednesday. “This happened in broad daylight at one of the busiest intersections in DC.” … Read more →
A long-standing gang rivalry in Columbia Heights/ Adams Morgan is now at the center of a DC murder trial stretching into its fourth month of testimony. Over the past two weeks, a former member of one of those gangs has detailed the relationships — and beefs — that brought the two groups together and broke … Read more →
Miko Thompson, 24, grew up with Jamal Coates playing sports at the Maria H. Reed Recreational Center from the time he was about 11 years old. But over the past two days, Thompson has been testifying about the shooting that killed 21-year-old Coates in September 2010. Keir Johnson and Lester Williams are charged with first-degree … Read more →
Members of a street gang that operated near 14th and Girard streets in Northwest D.C. were “not content to live in the neighborhood they were from,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Gee told jurors Wednesday in opening arguments, beginning a trial of four co-defendants charged with three murders. Instead, Gee said, they “wanted power.” Keir Johnson, … Read more →
Keir Johnson and Lester Williams turned down a government plea offer Thursday to second-degree murder while armed in connection with the shooting death of 21-year-old Jamal Coates. The two men are charged with conspiracy, first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and several weapons charges in connection with Coates’ death, who was shot and killed … Read more →
Keir Johnson and Lester Williams both pleaded not guilty today at their arraignment on charges of conspiracy, first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill and several weapons charges. Johnson and Jackson were among seven men named in an 80 count indictment that detailed five years of gang violence in Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and the … Read more →
MPD said tonight that 23-year-old Marcellus Jackson has been arrested in connection with the August 2010 shooting death of Sean Robinson. Jackson was wanted by MPD in connection with an 80-count gang indictment unsealed last month. He was arrested in North Carolina on Dec. 20. Court records show that he and another man named in … Read more →
Keir Johnson and Marcellus Jackson, the two men arrested in North Carolina on Dec. 20 in connection with an 80-count conspiracy indictment, are not yet in custody in D.C. At what was scheduled to be an arraignment on the charges Wednesday, Prosecutor Todd Gee said the men are expected to arrive in DC “any day … Read more →
Two alleged gang members wanted in connection with several murders have been arrested in North Carolina and are headed back to D.C. for arraignment, MPD confirmed Wednesday morning. The Jacksonville Daily News first reported that Marcellus Jackson and Keir Johnson had been arrested. Marcellus Jackson and Keir Johnson were among seven men named in an … Read more →
Judge Thomas Motley on Friday urged Keir Johnson and Marcellus Jackson to turn themselves in to authorities, telling a lawyer representing Jackson that the warrants are “not an invitation” and should be responded to with haste. “These people need to turn themselves in,” Motley said. Johnson and Jackson are among seven men named in an … Read more →
Two men named in yesterday’s 80-count gang indictment remain at large. The U.S. Marshals Service today released photos of Keir Johnson and Marcellus Jackson, part of a group believed to be responsible for shootings that left three dead and seven wounded in incidents going back to 2006. Five other suspects named in the indictment are … Read more →
In a written statement to Homicide Watch, Councilman Jim Graham, said the indictment against seven alleged gang members believed to be responsible for three homicides in Northwest DC is a “huge breakthrough in breaking up one of the most violent gang wars in Ward One.” Read Graham’s full statement below. If the charges are found … Read more →
The US Attorney’s Office has charged seven DC men with a series of gang, weapons, drugs, and violent crimes reported to have taken place in Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan and the U Street corridor since 2006. Among those crimes are three homicides, including that of Jamal Coates, who was killed while leaving a friend’s funeral … Read more →
A scholarship fund in memory of Jamal Coates has raised $1,500, enough to send seven children to school in a Guatamala education program Coates was a part of before his death. Coates, 21, was killed Sep. 28 in a shooting during a funeral procession for his friend Ashley McRae. Coates’ family asked that community contribute … Read more →
A Southeast D.C. man accused of killing Columbia Heights 21-year-old Ashley McRae has been indicted by a grand jury on second degree murder charges. McRae was found in the backseat of a car in Southeast D.C. with a gunshot wound to her head early in the morning of Sept. 18. According to press reports and … Read more →
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