Homicide Watch D.C.

In brief:

Dominic Davis, 27, was killed Monday in Northeast D.C.

Tracy McFadden, 44, was shot to death on Georgia Avenue Northwest overnight Saturday.

Judge Robert Morin sentenced Dominique Bassil to 17 years after a jury convicted her in November of stabbing her boyfriend, Vance Harris II.

Jurors found Ellsworth Colbert guilty of manslaughter in a case involving a fight over a dog.

Officers arrested Burnis Cole Thursday in connection with the Jan. 10 murder of Raasheem Jamal Rich.

Jurors heard opening arguments Thursday against John Bolton, accused of killing Christopher Fletcher at a 2011 cookout.

Sean Carter pleaded guilty Tuesday to a second-degree murder charge in the August killing of Biddley Warren.

In brief:

Nine days into the new year, DC recorded the year’s first homicide; the victim: Raasheem Jamal Rich. Police said Rich was fatally stabbed Thursday afternoon in the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue Southeast, near the Good Hope Marketplace.

Ellsworth Colbert‘s trial began at DC Superior Court. Opening arguments were heard Tuesday and the prosecution presented its case through the end of the week. Colbert is charged with killing his neighbor, Robert Wright. Prosecutors told jurors the crime was a neighborhood dispute over a dog which turned deadly violent. But Colbert’s defense attorney disagreed, arguing to jurors that the man on trial was not the agressor, that he was fighting for his life when he stabbed neighbor Wright.

Khari Williams was arrested in connection with the shooting death of Angelo Payne. Payne was killed Dec. 30.

A 21-count indictment charging a DC street gang with murder, conspiracy, and other crimes, was been amended to include a sixth suspect: 20-year-old Delrico Shuford. Shuford was arrested Wednesday. He pleaded innocent at his arraignment Thursday on charges including the 2011 shooting death of Tyrell Fogle.

Reco Pernell Coates III was sentenced to eight years in prison today for the 2007 murder of 39-year-old Anthony Collins. Coates pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the case in November.

Ariston Jamal Dickson pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Friday morning in the shooting death of Robert Maurice Lesuer.

In brief:

Two men were killed in separate shootings in Southeast DC last weekend. Darnell Rivers was killed a little before 8 p.m. last Saturday in the 5000 block of Ayers Place SE. Angelo Alphonso Payne was killed hours later, shortly after midnight in the 3400 block of Croffut Place. The two deaths brought DC’s 2012 homicide count to 92.

Judge Herbert Dixon moved forward with Ellsworth Colbert’s trial Wednesday morning, denying a motion to continue the trial and insisting that it go forward as scheduled. The trial is expected to begin Monday.

Malik Shabazz, who legally changed his name from Maurice Yancey, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the murder of Demetrius Dempsey. Dempsey, 34, died December 13, 2010, more than three years after being beaten in the face with a brick; his death was ruled a homicide in January 2011.

Samuel Nelson pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed in connection with the stabbing death of Darnell Howard. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 5. Howard, 36, died October 2, 2012, after being taken to the hospital with several stab wounds to his body.

Finally, Homicide Watch DC’s Year in Review 2012 is now complete. Catch up on our two-week special report on the year in homicides here.

In brief:

Jeffrey Ray Tyson, 20, was killed in a shooting in Southeast DC Sunday night.

Anthony Garland Rice, 58, was found unconscious near Northeast DC elementary school Monday morning. He appeared to have been shot and died of his injuries.

Jermile Damon Davis, 24, was shot and killed near Catholic University Thursday night. Police said they initially responded to the address for a report of a burglary in progress.

Raymond Harris, 44, was killed in a drive-by double shooting in Northeast DC early Saturday morning. The second victim was reported to be in critical condition.

Judge Robert Morin found probable cause to hold Steven Williams Monday. Williams is suspected in the shooting death of June Grace Lim.

Theodore Spencer was sentenced today to 36 years in prison for his roll in the brutal death of Glenn Scarborough. Terrell Wilson and Phillip Swan were sentenced to 34 and 30 years, respectively, for their involvement.

After 35 hours of testimony, Judge Russell Canan found Albrecht Muth mentally competent and gave him the green light for representing himself at trial, where he is suspected of killing his wife, Viola Drath.

Sharrod Peppers was sentenced to nine years in prison for the 2010 slaying of Rodney Bean. Peppers pled guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of carrying a pistol without a license in connection with the case in October.

Reginald Vance was sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement in the 2010 shooting death of Keith Banks. Vance pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact in April. Vance, who has been in custody since his arrest in Dec. 2010, was given credit for time served and at the sentencing Judge Ronna Beck signed an order for his release.

In brief:

A fatal Metrobus shooting ended with the suspect’s suicide in Hempstead, N.Y. Authorities say Selina Brown died in the doorway of a Metrobus in Southeast D.C Sunday evening. Her boyfriend and the father of her child, Javon Steven Foster, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday.

Joseph Chandler, who police say shot his girlfriend, 63-year-old Shirley Renee Tucker, earlier this month, made his first court appearance and was ordered held without bond. Chandler was hospitalized for several days after he complained of chest pains.

Judge Thomas Motley ordered Dennis Washington held for trial  Tuesday in the beating death of Thomas Lipscomb.

Judge William Jackson sentenced Charles Coates to 33 years behind bars after he was convicted in a September trial of killing his cousin, Eddie A. Leonard Jr., in a dispute over a $200 cable bill.

Two men were sentenced for their role in the 2011 fatal shooting of Demetrius Thompson aboard a W4 Metrobus. Delron Atchison was sentenced to 30 years in prison, while his accomplice Vincent Gray received a 21-year sentence.

Judge Robert Morin sentenced Eric Foreman, now 18, to 42 years in prison for his role in the shooting death of Catholic University of America graduate student Neil Godleski.

In brief:

Derrell Bennett pled guilty to second-degree murder while armed for his involvement in the 2010 shooting death of Keith Banks. Bennett and another suspect, Reginald Vance, originally pled innocent. Vance pled guilty as an accessory to the fatal shooting in April and is scheduled to be sentenced December 28. Bennett is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 25, 2013.

Judge Ronna Beck found substantial probability against Chavez Myers, who is suspected of fatally stabbing Olijawon Griffin inside the Woodley Park metro station in November. Beck also found probable cause against three others who are charged with robbery while armed for their involvement in an incident that preceded the stabbing. A felony status hearing for Myers is scheduled for Jan. 2.

Shirley Renee Tucker was found shot in the 1800 block of Maryland Avenue Northeast Thursday night; she later died at the hospital. Her boyfriend, Joseph Chandler, was arrested in connection with the case.

In brief:

Terrence McNeal pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for stabbing and killing Charles Hicks during a fight in Southeast D.C. in June 2011.

All charges against Malachi Hargrove, who had been indicted by a grand jury in connection with the armed robbery and murder of Osman Al-Akbar, have been dropped. Hargrove was released from custody on Nov. 16. He had turned himself into police in April.

Police arrested David Tyrone Robinson, 20, on suspicion of shooting and killing Howard Ricardo Sampler, though he has not yet been presented with a murder charge. A police press release says Robinson is charged with second-degree murder while armed. Bill Miller, spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office, said Robinson is being held on a weapons charge while the homicide investigation continues.

Steven Williams was arrested in the shooting death of June Grace Lim, who police believe was killed in a robbery this past June. Lim was found dead inside Grace Deli, which she owned, shortly after 6 a.m. on June 14. A judge ordered Williams held at a presentment hearing on Thursday.

Dennis Washington was arrested in the beating death of Thomas Lipscomb. Judge Karen Howze found “substantial probability” Thursday that Washington murdered  Lipscomb in April 2011. Prosecutors allege Lipscomb was killed for his television.

Judge Robert Morin set a trial date of June 10 for Gary Niles Montgomery, who is accused of murdering 23-year-old JaParker Deoni Jones. Montgomery, 55, is suspected of stabbing and killing Jones in February.

Michael Jerome Galloway was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing Navarro Anthony Brown. Brown and Galloway, both then 18, were not fighting on the evening of Jan. 10 when Brown was found on the sidewalk bleeding from his head in the 3200 block of 23rd Street Southeast, where both men lived with their families. But that didn’t stop a conversation between the men from ending in gunfire.

Ronald Page rejected a plea deal on Friday, paving the way for a June trial on charges that he shot and killed his step-son, Nicholas Ray Satcher, in Jan. 2011.

Wayne Jackson, Harold Proctor and Christopher Williams, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in the 2011 death of 20-year-old Kevin Blackwell Jr. Prosecutors said it was a killing motivated by revenge.

Chavez Tyrek Myers, 17, was charged with second-degree murder while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon for his involvement in the early Saturday morning brawl in the Woodley Park Metro station that left Olijawon Griffin dead and another teenager with a broken nose. Eight other teens were charged as juveniles for their alleged roles in the armed robbery and melee.

The Georgetown home where elderly socialite Viola Drath was killed a little more than a year ago is being emptied of her possessions as part of an estate sale, the Washingtonian reported.

Brian Gaither pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Latisha Frazier. Gaither’s trial began Monday; jury selection was due to begin next week. Of six original co-defendants, only one, Johnnie Sweets, is still headed for trial.

The two teenagers suspected of killing taxi driver Quadar Muhammad were ordered held without bond during a preliminary hearing in D.C. Superior Court Tuesday. Joshua Terrell Mebane and Linda Bury, both Maryland residents, have been charged with felony murder while armed in connection with Muhammad’s death.

In brief:

A teen couple was charged Monday with killing cab driver Quadar Muhammad in Northeast D.C. earlier this month. Joshua Terrell Mebane and Linda Lee Bury, both 17, had been dating online for six days before the alleged murder. Maryland prosecutors also charged Mebane with killing a woman who was walking her dog in Mebane’s hometown of Waldorf, Md., in late October.

Olijawon Griffin, 18, was killed in a stabbing at Woodley Park Metro station early Saturday morning. Police say a fight broke out inside the station after Griffin encountered a group that had robbed him earlier. An unnamed suspect is in custody on suspicion of second degree murder.

The Metropolitan Police Department released a surveillance video showing three persons of interest in the department’s investigation into the death of Wayne Young.

Judge William Jackson found probable cause Friday to hold Daren Vaughn for trial on murder charges in the September death of Tyrell Swann.

Quindetta Cosby accepted a plea deal Friday from prosecutors in the Sept. 13 stabbing death of Paul Morris. Cosby pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed and also pleaded guilty to felony assault in an unrelated July incident. Cosby said she was intoxicated and did not have a clear memory of stabbing Morris.

Judge Thomas Motley sentenced Chamontae Walker and Corey Yates to decades in prison for their role in a Southeast D.C. homicide in Sept. 2010 that killed Darrel Hendy. Walker was sentenced to 40 years in prison, while Yates received a 24-year sentence.

In brief:

Andre Jackson, 22, was found dead after a shooting early Sunday morning in the 300 block of Ridge Road Southeast. Police have not yet named a suspect in the shooting.

A body found near a burning car was ruled a homicide Friday, the Metropolitan Police Department announced. Two juveniles have been arrested in the case, but the victim’s name has not been released.

Keir Johnson and Lester Williams pleaded not guilty Friday to conspiracy, first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill and several weapons charges. The two men were among seven named in an 80 count indictmentthat detailed five years of gang violence in Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and the U Street corridor.

Gary Niles Montgomery pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday. Montgomery is accused of first-degree murder while armed in the stabbing death

Gary Niles Montgomery pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday. Montgomery, 55, is accused of killing 23-year-old Japarker Deoni Jones in February. Prosecutors say Montgomery stabbed Jones in the head at a bus stop in the 4900 block of East Capitol Street Northeast and took her purse.

A jury found Dominique Bassil guilty of killing her boyfriend, Vance Harris III. They had deliberated for three full days before returning the verdict at about 11 a.m. Friday.

Arvel Wills, who is accused of killing his cousin Dewayne Wills in May, was considering a plea offer from prosecutors. The offer would reduce his charges from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. Wills would also plead guilty to felony possession of a firearm as part of the deal.

Judge Thomas Motley found that there was “barely” probable cause to send a second-degree murder case against Lloyd Bright to a grand jury. Bright is accused of killing Darryl Eugene Sweet, Sr. in July. Prosecutors say Bright hit Sweet, but Bright’s attorney contended that Bright didn’t know the slap would kill the man.

Millions of Americans cast ballots in the nation’s presidential election Tuesday. Even inmates at the D.C. jail got in on the electoral action. The Associated Press reported that the District of Columbia is unusual among governments for actively encouraging its inmates to cast ballots. The AP reports that 88 voted at the jail this year of about 1,700 inmates.

Judge Thomas Motley turned down a request for a new trial for Corey Yates. Yates, convicted in August of second-degree murder in the death of Darrel Hendy, didn’t have a strong enough case that prosecutors kept evidence from his defense team that would have changed the jury’s mind, Motley said.