Charles Monroe Coates | Homicide Watch DC

Charles Coates Sentenced to 33 Years in Cousin's Death

Sam Pearson — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:47:36 -0500

Judge William Jackson sentenced Charles Coates to 33 years in prison Friday for a 2011 shooting that killed Eddie A. Leonard Jr., Coates' cousin.

A jury found Coates guilty of second-degree murder and three related weapons charges in September. Prosecutors argued that Coates led Leonard to an alley behind the 400 block of 24th Street Northeast in a dispute over $200 Coates needed to pay his cable bill.

Coates' attorney sought to secure a new trial for Coates, arguing that a juror knew Coates' wife, LaShun Cloutterbuck, from their work together from the cafeteria at The George Washington University Hospital and had once flirted with her. Jackson ruled against the motion earlier this week.

Jackson said Coates had not cooperated with investigators and had instead sought to mislead police looking into the case.

He said Coates told officers he was not at the scene of the crime and blamed another man for the shooting. Jackson said he found Coates' actions troubling.

"I suspect, had that individual [named by Coates] not had an alibi, he would have been charged in this case," Jackson said.

Jackson said Coates attempted to enlist his mother to help him thwart investigators by contacting the Metropolitan Police Department's Crime Solvers hotline claiming to be a witness to the murder. Coates wanted his mother to identify another person as the shooter, Jackson said.

Coates, speaking to family members who were in court, said he didn't blame them for being upset with him.

But, he added, "I didn't kill your kid."

A press release from the US Attorney's Office is below. Sentencing documents will be added to this post.

District Man Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison
For Slaying of Man in Northeast Washington
- Defendant Lured Victim to an Alley Following a Dispute Over Money -

WASHINGTON - Charles Coates, 43, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 33 years in prison on charges stemming from a murder last year in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

A jury found Coates guilty in September 2012, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of second-degree murder while armed and three weapons felonies. He was sentenced by the Honorable William M. Jackson.

According to the government’s evidence, Coates shot and killed Eddie Leonard, Jr., 32, at about 11:50 p.m., on Feb. 20, 2011, in an alley behind the 400 block of 24th Street NE. Mr. Leonard was a son of the defendant’s first cousin. The evidence presented at trial showed that Coates and Mr. Leonard had a dispute over money earlier that day, which led Coates to lure Mr. Leonard to the alley that night, and shoot him once in the head with a .380 caliber handgun.

Coates was arrested in the case on April 20, 2011.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives and officers from the Metropolitan Police Department who responded to the scene of the murder and canvassed the area for evidence and witnesses. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paul Howell and Joe Calvarese, of the Litigation Technology Unit; Paralegal Specialists Sandra Lane and Alesha Matthews Yette of the Homicide Section; Marcey Rinker, Michael Hailey and David Foster of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit; Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Miller, who oversaw the grand jury investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman, who prosecuted the case at trial.

Juror Accused of Bias After Guilty Verdict for Charles Coates

Jonah Newman — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:25:39 -0400

A jury last month found Charles Monroe Coates guilty of second-degree murder and three related weapons charges in the February 2011 shooting death of his cousin, Eddie A. Leonard Jr.

A hearing next week, though, to look into allegations that one of the jurors may have been biased may give Coates the chance for a new trial.

According to a motion filed by defense attorneys Thomas Dybdahl and Jacqeline Cadman, one of the jurors worked with Coates' wife, LaShun Cloutterbuck, in the cafeteria at The George Washington University Hospital from December 2010 to October 2011, and he flirted with her on a few occasions.

Coates wrote in an affidavit that he often met his wife at her work to accompany her home on the bus and that he met many of her co-workers, including the juror.

He said he confronted the juror, who he described as an "older bald headed light skin man," about the flirtation in January or February 2011 and the man "stepped off and we never spoke again."

According to the motion, the juror never mentioned his interaction with Coates or his knowledge of Cloutterbuck, who was listed as a potential witness, during jury selection. The juror claims that he never met Coates before the trial started.

"It seems the exchange of words between the juror and the defendant were fairly minor," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman said during a hearing Monday before Judge William M. Jackson. "I just don't think it was a big deal in the juror's mind, so if it did happen, that's why he didn't remember it."

But Jackson said he felt compelled to hold a hearing to determine whether the interaction took place and if the juror was biased.

"I can't resolve that issue without hearing the testimony of the defendant, his wife, and finally, the juror," Jackson said.

The three will be called to testify at the hearing, which is scheduled for Nov. 1 at 10:00 a.m. Sentencing for Coates is still scheduled for Dec. 14 at 9:30 a.m.

Week Ahead

Laura Amico — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:54:18 -0400

Each Friday, 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.

Monday
Kevin Clark and Donald Crosland are expected for a status hearing with Judge Thomas Motley. They are suspected in the fatal shooting of Ricardo Minger in Southeast D.C. on Jan. 7, 2011. A trial date has been set in the case for Oct. 17.

Tuesday
Charles Coates is expected for a status hearing with Judge Gerald Fisher in a felony murder while armed case. Coates is suspected in the shooting death of his cousin, Eddie Leonard Jr. in February 2011. The case has not yet been indicted.

Wednesday
Jerome Bailey is expected for a status hearing with Judge Lynn Leibovitz in a first-degree murder case. Bailey pleaded innocent to the charge at his arraignment last month, but was granted additional time to consider a plea offer from the government. Bailey is suspected in the death of Rico Matthews, who was shot to death Nov. 5, 2011.

Katrell Henry is also expected for a status hearing with Judge Leibovitz on Wednesday. Henry is suspected in the shooting death of Laroy Bryant on Nov. 1, 2010. A jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 24.

Please remember that court dates can change, even at the last minute. To view the docket of a case please go to the D.C. Courts website and search by the defendant’s name.

Charles Coates Held in Shooting Death of Cousin, Eddie Leonard Jr.

Laura Amico — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:13:44 -0400

A judge today found substantial probability that Charles Coates killed his younger cousin, possibly for $200 to help pay a cable bill.

Judge Gerald Fisher made that decision after hearing testimony from an MPD homicide detective involved in the case and watching a 45-minute taped interview that Coates gave at police headquarters when he was brought in for questioning.

Assistant US Attorney Emily Miller laid out a complicated case for the court Tuesday, drawing on statements from a half dozen witnesses as well as teasing out inconstancies in Coates's various accounts for what happened the night his cousin, Eddie Leonard Jr., was killed.

Coates' defense attorney, Elizabeth Mullin, argued that prosecutors could not pick and choose which pieces of Coates' statement they wanted to be believed and which ones should be regarded as false.

According to charging documents in the case, Coates spoke with investigators twice about Leonard's death: once while riding to the Homicide Branch for an interview and again during that interview.

Detective Michael Fulton testified Tuesday that Coates wasn't a suspect until he started talking to police. Fulton said detectives initially went to Coates' home to interview him.

"We firmly believed he was just a witness," Fulton testified.

That changed when Fulton, en route with Coates to police headquarters, asked Coates about what happened that night, Fulton said.

Coates said he and Leonard intended to purchase PCP the night Leonard was killed. The two drove together to Langston Terrace for that purpose. Once they got there Leonard wandered off on his own at which point he was shot, Coates told investigators. Coates said he heard a gunshot and "someone from the neighborhood came and told him [Leonard] had been shot."

Later, in an interview at police headquarters, Coates said he and Leonard had planned to rob the PCP dealer that night. As the three of them walked down the ally, Leonard pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the dealer, who then pulled his pistol and fired it at Leonard, striking him.

Leonard was shot once at close range from behind his right ear, Fulton said. Also, Coates, who claimed to have ran from the scene of the shooting and jumped on a Metro bus, is not depicted in any Metro bus video surveillance from that night. And the drug dealer, identified as Haywood, was with a friend through most of that night and is not believed to have been in the alley when Leonard was shot.

Miller, the prosecutor, said the government's case rests in part on the belief that Leonard was robbed during his killing. Employed and making $11 an hour, Leonard had withdrawn $200 from his bank account less than two days before he was killed. His father saw him with a bank roll of about that same amount the night he was killed, but only $20 was found on his body. Coates, meanwhile, needed $396 to pay a cable bill which was due Feb. 25.

A family member of both Coates and Leonard said that after Leonard was killed, Coates came to him and wanted to explain "what happened." That person told police that Coates then said he "didn't do it" because he had $400.

Charles Coates Ordered Held in Death of Eddie Leonard Jr.

Laura Amico — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:31:28 -0400

Charles Monroe Coates was ordered held today on suspicion of first degree murder in the shooting death of Eddie A. Leonard Jr. in a robbery behind a fastfood joint on Benning Road in Northeast D.C.

Coates, who appeared in court this afternoon to be presented with the charge, shook his head from side to side through much of his brief appearance. He remarked, appearing astonished, "who?" when a government prosecutor told the court that Coates admitted to a witness that he killed Leonard.

According to charging documents in the case, Coates spoke with investigators twice about Leonard's death. Once while riding to the Homicide Branch for an interview and again during that interview.

What he told investigators varied. In the car Coates said he and Leonard intended to purchase PCP the night Leonard was killed. The two drove together to Langston Terrace for that purpose. Once they got there Leonard wandered off on his own at which point he was shot, Coates told investigators. Coates said he heard a gunshot and "someone from the neighborhood came and told him [Leonard] had been shot," according to the affidavit.

Later, Coates said he and Leonard had planned to rob the PCP dealer that night. As the three of them walked down the ally, Leonard pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the dealer, who then pulled his pistol and fired it at Leonard, striking him.

A witness to the case, however, told authorities that Leonard "doesn't do robberies." He said instead that Coates was "always robbing people."

"I don't trust that dude because he's cruddy," the witness told police of Coates.

Another witness told police Coates admitted to it that he had killed Leonard. Another said Coates admitted to it that he was with Leonard when he was killed, but didn't know what happened.

A preliminary hearing is set for the case for May 31. Coates is being held without bond until that date.

Charging documents are below.

Charles Coates Arrested on Suspicion of Killing Eddie Leonard Jr.

Laura Amico — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 22:31:30 -0400

A 41-year-old Southeast D.C. man was arrested today on suspcion of killing Eddie Leonard Jr., 32, in Northeast D.C. in Febuary.

MPD's arrest warrant charges Charles Monroe Coates with first-degree murder while armed. No court date was available yet Thursday night.

MPD's press release follows the jump.

Arrest Made in the Homicide in the 400 Block of 23rd Place NE

(Washington, DC)- Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced an arrest in the homicide of 32 year-old Eddie Leonard Jr.

On Sunday, February 20, 2011, at approximately 11:45 p.m., units from the First District were dispatched to 400 block of 24th Street, NE, to investigate the sounds of gunshots. Upon their arrival, they discovered in the rear of the 400 block of 23rd Place, NE, an adult male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Personnel from the DC Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and determined that the victim had no signs consistent with life. He was pronounced dead on the scene by a member of the Office of the Chief medical Examiner.

On Thursday, April 21, 2011, at approximately 12:20 pm, 41-year-old Charles Monroe Coates of SE, Washington, DC, was arrested by Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch pursuant to an arrest warrant charging him with Felony Murder while Armed.