Homicide Watch D.C.

Deon Edward Cole, 19, was arrested Monday on suspicion of second-degree murder while armed in the July 2013 death of 53-year-old Walter Goode Jr.

Officers found Goode, 53, lying unconscious 1100 block of First Place Northwest, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

MPD’s full press release is below: Read more

Ten unsolved homicides covered on this site could officially become cold cases at the end of 2014, meaning leads have been exhausted and further investigation will move out of MPD’s regular homicide division.

Cases that go unsolved for four years are transferred to the Cold Case Unit on a case-by-case basis, according to MPD Spokesman Lieutenant Sean Conboy.

“If there are leads to pursue, we will investigate a case regardless of how old it is,” Conboy wrote in an email interview. “The amount of time devoted to a case is not determined by the age of the case, but rather by the time required to properly and completely investigate the leads.”
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A father and son were killed in a shooting Sunday night along Southern Avenue.

A police officer discovered Preston Cornelius Johnson, 71, lying outside a car and Preston Cornelius Johnson Jr, 49, inside the vehicle on the 1300 block of Southern Avenue Southeast, according to WJLA. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

MPD will conduct a press conference at 4 p.m.

A media press release from MPD is below: Read more

When Misty Gibson was subpoenaed to testify in the murder trial against Andre Miles on December 1, she refused to cooperate out of fear for her life.

“Your promises don’t mean shit,” she told a prosecutor.

When Gibson continued to refuse, Judge John Ramsey Johnson held her in contempt of court. After four days in the D.C. jail, she conceded. But when she failed to appear at Superior Court on December 10, Johnson issued a bench warrant.

Gibson is a murder witness, and a trial relies heavily on witnesses. But many, like Gibson, fear for their safety.
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Police have issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in the death of Yamalith Arroyo, who was shot to death on Christmas Eve in the 3900 block of 14th Street Northwest.

Marvin W. Lopez, 35, was last seen wearing a red, white and blue jacket and brown pants. He’s shown in the photos below:

Arroyo was one of four people killed in homicides on Christmas Eve.

MPD’s full press release is below:
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It’s been more than three years since Tyrell Fogle, Isaiah Sheffield and Steven Moore were killed in separate crew-related shootings in Northeast DC. This year their alleged killers were convicted and sentenced, ending a complex multi-defendant case.

Six men were charged in 2011 and 2012: Kevin Charles, Johnnie Harris, Anthony Hatton, Stanley Moghalu, Delrico Shuford, and Jewkan Smith. They were bound by their allegiance to “21st and Vietnam,” a crew allegedly responsible for taking part in a number of violent acts that injured one person and killed Fogle, 17; Sheffield, 24; and Moore, 36. The men were all charged with 21 criminal counts including conspiracy, first-degree murder, obstruction of justice, assault and weapons charges for the 2011 murders.

On August 29, 2011, Tyrell Fogle was chased through Langston Terrace and gunned down by a masked man. Isaiah Sheffield was shot and killed in September 2011 when he rode his bike down 21st Street Northeast. Steven Moore was simply found shot, early in the evening of Dec. 3, 2011, in the 1100 block of 21st Street Northeast.

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In brief:

Five homicides were reported this week:

• A shooting in the 900 block of Delafield Place Northwest killed Daniel Joseph Hinton Tuesday night.
• On Wednesday, a woman was found in the 3900 block of 14th Street Northwest at approximately 5:26 p.m. suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to a hospital where she died. The woman’s identity is being withheld until police can notify the family.
• At 9:05 p.m., Gregory Lee, 28, was found in the 1200 block of Stevens Road Southeast with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
• Almost an hour later, police responded to the sound of gunshots. An adult male suffering from a gunshot wound was located in the 2600 block of Sherman Avenue Northwest and was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is being withheld until police can notify his family.
• Twenty minutes later, police found 25-year-old Marquiz Anthony Robinson of Centreville, Virginia, in the 800 block of Bladensburg Road Northeast unconscious and suffering from a gunshot wound. He died at a local hospital.

Police fatally shot 29-year-old Raymond Robinson of Southeast D.C. in a confrontation near the 2800 block of Naylor Road Southeast.

Donald Dubose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed Monday for his role in the 2012 drive-by shooting that killed 34-year-old Michael Oshea Smith.

Veteran journalist William Shultz recounted his time on the jury that convicted Demonta Chappell. “My voice did not waiver as I announced that we found Mr. Chappell guilty on all six counts, including the first-degree murder charge,” he wrote.

Photographer Lloyd Wolf looked back at 2014 through the street shrines he saw as part of his ongoing documentary work, Washington’s Other Monuments. He writes: “Although the number of street memorials I encountered were fewer in number than in many previous years — arguably a positive trend — there were still many lives lost and hearts broken by the continued violence in our community.”

Shaun Reid, who at 28 has been in the funeral business for a decade, talked to Homicide Watch about spending his life with the dead: “It’s not something the average person wakes up in the morning saying, ‘Oh, I want to be in the funeral world.’” Reid said. “No, it doesn’t operate like that. You got to have a love for it and have a craft for it.”

In an interview with Homicide Watch, Police Chief Cathy Lanier said homicide prevention needs to be a city-wide mission: “I would like the city to have every single agency in D.C. government have one of their performance measures be homicide prevention. Every single one. Everybody can do something.”

A burst of violence in the days before Christmas left six people dead, including one man killed by police, making it one of the most violent periods of 2014.

Mayor-elect Muriel Bowser posted an open letter on Facebook to the Petworth community, her current city council ward. Read the full letter below:
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MPD Chief Cathy Lanier speaks to Homicide Watch DC on Dec. 9, 2014.

Five children were killed in the District this year. Three were infants. One, Xavier Lyles, was a toddler. Jonathon Adams was 17 when he was stabbed to death. All died inside of a home or apartment building.

“That’s a challenge for police, but it speaks volumes for everybody else,” Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said. “The home is where you’re supposed to be safe, especially if you’re a child.”

In an interview with Homicide Watch in her office at MPD headquarters, Lanier said that communication between partnering agencies is an increasingly vital tactic in preventing homicide.

“I would like the city to have every single agency in D.C. government have one of their performance measures be homicide prevention,” the police chief said. “Every single one. Everybody can do something.”

Lanier spoke to reporters Imari Williams and Amelia Rufer on December 9. The full interview, with video, is below: Read more

Five people were killed in separate shootings across D.C. on Christmas Eve. Four have been ruled homicides.

The fifth was a police-involved shooting. Officers shot and killed a man who matched the description of a robbery suspect, according to MPD.
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