This Comment of the Day comes from NW Neighbor who writes about Leon Young.
Last night there was a vigil for Leon on Jefferson Street NW. Very sad situation. Leon had a very tough life losing his mother to drugs and recently grandmother within the last year. His grandmother was very active in his life and was a staple. But Leon made some very tough choices later on in life and I am saddened to hear of this final outcome. There were a lot of people in Leon’s corner, but eventually we have to try our best to rise above our pain. I hope any young men or women reading this will decide today to make a different choice for their life. May the family be healed in time.
In brief:
There were two homicides reported this week:
- Metropolitan police found an unidentified man dead on Tuesday in the backyard area of the 1800 block of 8th street Northwest. The body was found five days after Leon Young was discovered in the same area.
- Luis E. Avila Melendez, 27, of Northwest D.C., was found shot in the 1600 block of Columbia Road Northwest.
On Monday, jurors found Arik Adanti Sims guilty of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and three related weapons charges in connection with the shooting death of Lamar Fonville after nearly two days of deliberations. Fonville, 33, was discovered dead on a sidewalk in the 7400 block of Georgia Avenue Northwest in September 2012.
Jeffrey Neal, 21, was charged Saturday with second-degree murder in connection to the death of Leon Young. Young was found dead at 11:30 a.m. on June 12 in the 1800 block of 8th street Northwest. Neal told police that Young confessed to killing another man before Young attempted to stab him.
A second juvenile was arrested and held in connection with the shooting death of Rashard Raigns. He is the third person arrested in connection with Raigns’ death.
David Warren was sentenced Friday to 36 years in prison for the May 2011 shooting death of Ervin Lamont Griffin. Jurors found 32-year-old Warren guilty of two counts of first-degree murder while armed, second-degree murder while armed, kidnapping while armed, armed carjacking, armed robbery, and related weapons offenses.
Khari Natron Williams was sentenced to 12 years in prison Friday for fatally shooting Angelo Alphonso Payne in Dec. 2012. Judge John Ramsey Johnson sentenced Williams under the Youth Rehabilitation Act, meaning he was sentenced as a youth and he will have the opportunity to clear his conviction from his record after serving his sentence.
Judge Jennifer Anderson sentenced Calvin Shaw Friday to 107 years in prison for two shootings, including one which killed 19-year-old Crevontai Key on July 4, 2012. Shaw was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder while armed in connection with Key’s death and over 30 other assault and weapon charges in the two shootings.
A man found dead in a burning home earlier this month in Northeast D.C. has been identified by police and his death was ruled a suicide.
An overnight shooting near the intersection of Fuller Street and Mozart Place Northwest left a 27-year-old man dead, MPD reported Saturday.
Luis E. Avila Melendez, of Northwest D.C., was found with an apparent gunshot wound in the 1600 block of Columbia Road Northwest. He died at a local hospital.
MPD’s full press release is below: Read more
Each week, Homicide Watch brings you a list of upcoming hearings in the cases we follow. All hearings are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted. To add an item to the listing, email homicidewatchdc [at] gmail.com. To see scheduled court hearings beyond next week, see our calendar.
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Calvin Shaw was sentenced Friday to 107 years in prison for two shootings, including one which killed 19-year-old Crevontai Key and injured three others on July 4, 2012.
“Every life is precious; the sentence should reflect every victim,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff.
Shaw, 22, was convicted in April of first-degree premeditated murder while armed in connection with Key’s death and over 30 other assault and weapon charges in the two shootings.
Kerkhoff said the parents of Key tried to come to court, but couldn’t bear it.
Read more
Judge John Ramsey Johnson sentenced Khari Natron Williams to 12 years in prison Friday for fatally shooting Angelo Alphonso Payne in Dec. 2012 because Williams believed Payne had stolen PCP from him, according to prosecutors.
Williams was 17 years old at the time of the shooting. He was arrested in Jan. 2013, and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in April.
Payne was found unconscious in the 3400 Block of Croffut Place Southeast suffering from a gunshot wound. He later died at a hospital.
“I would like to own up to my mistakes,” said Williams to Judge Johnson during the sentencing. “I am asking you to see me as a young man who made mistakes, and not as the bad man they’ve made me out to be.”
Read more
David Warren was sentenced Friday by Judge Rhonda Winston to 36 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for the May 2011 shooting death of Ervin Lamont Griffin, in Northeast D.C.
Warren, 32, was convicted by a jury in March of two counts of first-degree murder while armed, second-degree murder while armed, kidnapping while armed, armed carjacking, armed robbery, and related weapons offenses.
His elder brother, Montez Warren, a co-defendant on the case, was found innocent of all charges.
“Loosing our youngest son was a terrible tragedy,” said Griffin’s father, Robert Griffin, during the hearing Friday. “We believe this was a conspiracy between two people, maybe several people, but we will never know.”
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The second juvenile arrested in connection with the shooting death of Rashard Raigns was presented in court on Wednesday.
The 13-year-old youth was ordered held until his next court date.
He is the third person arrested in the Raigns case.
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A second juvenile male has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of Rashard Raigns, MPD said Wednesday evening.
The boy was not identified by police. He is the third person arrested in conenction with the case.
William Smallwood was arrested last Tuesday. Teenager Demitrich Jones was arrested last Wednesday and charged as an adult.
A press release from MPD is after the jump.
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Metropolitan police found an unidentified man dead in the backyard area of the 1800 block of 8th Street Northwest, according to a press release. A D.C. medical examiner ruled the cause of death was blunt force impact injuries.
The discovery comes five days after Leon Young was found dead in the attic of a residence in the same block. Police say that the unidentified man found Tuesday was discovered on the grounds of the residence where a homicide victim was located.
Read more
