Joseph Chandler will assert an insanity defense in connection to the shooting death of his girlfriend, 63-year-old Shirley Tucker, his defense attorney said Friday.
Chandler, 73 is charged with second-degree murder while armed and has been on release from jail for medical reasons since July of last year. Judge Jennifer Anderson will allow Chandler to participate in next Friday’s hearing by telephone.
Court documents say Chandler confessed to police that he shot Tucker and told them that he deserved to die. Read more
Judge John Ramsey Johnson declared a mistrial late Thursday afternoon after jurors could not decide whether or not Daren Vaughn committed voluntary manslaughter while armed, a lesser included charge for first-degree murder, in connection with death of Tyrell Swann Read more
After two days of deliberations, jurors in the trial of Daren Vaughn reached a partial verdict Wednesday, announcing Vaughn innocent of first-degree premeditated murder in connection to the death of Tyrell Swann.
Vaughn was also acquitted of burglary and assault charges, though jurors did find Vaughn guilty of one count of carrying a dangerous weapon.
Judge John Ramsey Johnson ordered the jury to come back Thursday morning and deliberate on the final remaining charge: voluntary manslaughter while armed. Read more
Jurors deliberated for less than five hours before they found Antoine Little innocent of murder Wednesday, acquitting him of all charges in connection with the stabbing death of 52-year-old James Cain.
Police found Cain on June 25, 2012, in the 1500 block of Kenilworth Avenue Northeast suffering from five stab wounds, including one to the throat that perforated his jugular vein. Prosecutors say that Little went with his wife and another person to get their car fixed by Cain that day. Read more
During opening statements Wednesday, prosecutors described six unarmed teenagers celebrating the Fourth of July, “just hanging out,” as one of the teen’s mother watched from the front porch.
Then, in a matter of seconds, three men wearing white t-shirts walked out of a nearby alley and opened fire. Four of the teens were taken to the hospital suffering from bullet wounds, one never came out.
Nineteen-year-old James Crevontai Key also known as “Poody,” died that night, July 4, 2012, from a single shot to the left side of his back. The bullet punctured his lung and aorta and exited through his neck, according to charging documents.
“Twenty-eight times, twenty-eight bullets, twenty-eight shots as they ran for their lives,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kirkoff, in opening statements in the case against Calvin Shaw Wednesday. Read more
A shooting in the 1500 block of V Street, Southeast killed 22-year-old Virgil Wood Tuesday night, according to MPD.
Police officers responding to the sounds of gunshots at approximately 10:35 p.m. found Wood suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Wood was then transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A press release from MPD is after the jump. Read more
In closing arguments, prosecutors and defense attorneys both told jurors that an argument between Antoine Little and James Cain started a physical confrontation where Cain was stabbed and killed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Wheeler said Little initiated the physical confrontation after he felt disrespected because Cain called him a fake Muslim. But Little’s defense attorney argues that Cain swung a large metal pole at Little first and asked jurors to consider Cain’s history of violence.
Now it’s up to jurors to decide which version to believe and how the story will end. Little, 37, faces charges of second-degree murder while armed and carrying a dangerous weapon in connection with Cain’s stabbing death on June 25, 2012. Read more
Prosecutors say that Daren Vaughn left a fight with his friend Tyrell Swann angry and bruised, planning to grab a knife from his house and seek revenge.
When Vaughn returned, he pushed past Swann’s sister, brandished the knife in her face, and told her to “get the f*ck out” of his way. Though Swann’s mother also tried to keep the men separate, Vaughn managed to stab Swann through his lung and into his heart, killing him.
Vaughn’s defense attorney, Jacqueline Cadman, says that Swann’s sister, Nakita Bourn, wasn’t even in the room where she claims Swann was stabbed. According to Cadman, Vaughn purposefully avoided Swann when he returned that night because he instead hoped to speak with Bourn, a woman he occasionally dated. But when he returned, Swann began choking him, so Vaughn stabbed him in self-defense. Read more
As prosecutors tell it, almost four years ago, Joshua Andrews laid in ambush on June 5, 2010, and killed Darond Alonte Lucas execution style. But defense attorneys say that evidence never shows the gun in Andrews’ hands.
These were the closing arguments jurors heard Monday afternoon.
Andrews, now 21, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, assault with intention to kill, and three related weapons charges in connection with the shooting death of 17-year-old Lucas. Lucas was found dead by police at approximately 2:55 a.m. with multiple gunshot wounds, including several to the back of his head. Read more
Homicide Watch is a community-driven reporting project covering every murder in the District of Columbia. Using original reporting, court documents, social media, and the help of victims’ and suspects’ friends, family, neighbors and others, we cover every homicide from crime to conviction. Read more…
