Jeffrey Mills | Homicide Watch DC

Jeffrey Mills Sentenced to 18 Years For Beating Antonio Paredes to Death With Barbell

Kristian Hernandez — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 22:16:06 -0500

Jeffrey Mills was sentenced to 18 years for beating Juan Antonio Paredes to death with a barbell in 2012. A jury convicted Mills, 52, of voluntary manslaughter in November.

"His conduct was inexcusable," Judge John Ramsey Johnson said at the sentencing. "I think Mr. Mills was angry that day and he took out his anger on poor Mr. Paredes."

According to evidence and witness testimonies, Paredes, 45, was with friends on the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, on the sidewalk near the intersection of Park Road and 14th Street Northwest, when Mills a local street vendor grabbed a long 15 pound barbell and hit him repeatedly on the head and stomach.

"This man killed my son for no reason, he beat him savagely like an animal," Paredes' mother, Zolia Paredes, said. "No one deserves to die like that."

At the sentencing hearing today Mills gave his condolences to Paredes' crying mother and said he was acting in self-defense. Mills who is a known street vendor on Park Road told police that Paredes had threatened him with a "machete-shaped pocket knife," and he "was afraid for his life."

Eluopeo Argueta, Paredes' friend who witnessed the attack, testified that Paredes never threatened Mills, and held nothing in his hands, which were by his side when Mills approached him.

During trial Argueta told jurors that when Mills hit Paredes, he fell to the ground and was bleeding from the head. Mills then approached Paredes again and hit him with the bar in a downward motion like he was swinging a baseball bat.

Paredes served in the military in his home country of El Salvador, before moving to the United States when he was 28. His mother told Homicide Watch that as a result of her son's death, her mother (Paredes' grandmother) also passed away.

"She just stopped eating," Zolia Paredes said. Paredes grandmother, who was 85, helped raise him since he was 13, when his mother came to the United States to work as a housekeeper.

Mills wife was also present at sentencing today but was not allowed to speak on his behalf. She raised her hand as she sat quietly on the right side of the courtroom, "He was up there working," she said to herself. "He wasn't bothering nobody."

Mills' defense attorney described him as, "a man of great resilience," who had overcome problems with addiction, mental health and a previous crime record when asking Judge Johnson for a lesser sentence.

After his release from prison, Mills will also serve five years of supervised release.

Mill's sentencing documents have been added below.

Mills, Jeffrey Sentence Document (PDF)Mills, Jeffrey Sentence Document (Text)

Jeffrey Mills Found Guilty in Murder of Juan Paredes

Ivan Natividad — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 17:44:39 -0500

Jeffrey Mills was found guilty Thursday of voluntary maslaughter while armed and carrying a dangerous weapon during crime of violence in connection with the 2012 death of 45-year-old Juan Antonio Paredes.

Jurors in the case delivered their verdict around 5:00 p.m. Thursday after deliberating for less than five hours.

Mills, 50, was charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed; voluntary manslaughter while armed is a lesser offense.

Police found Paredes on January 14, 2012 just before 2:00 p.m. one block from the Columbia Heights metro station. Paredes had been beaten and was lying on the ground. He was transported to a local hospital where he died of his injuries the next day.

During trial, Mills testified that he attacked Paredes with a steel barbell in self defense after Paredes approached him with a knife.

In closing arguments Thursday, though, prosecutors argued that Mills' testimony was not truthful, and that he killed Paredes out of anger.

Charging documents state, Mills, a street vendor, told police that on the day of the attack Paredes had “threatened to cut him with a machete-shaped pocket knife.”

Eluopeo Argueta, Paredes' friend who witnessed the attack, testified that Paredes never threatened Mills, and held nothing in his hands, which were by his side, when Mills approached him.

Argueta told jurors that when Paredes was hit by Mills, he fell to the ground and was bleeding from the head. Mills then approached Paredes again, and hit him with the bar in a downward motion "with force", Argueta testified.

Mills said, though, that he never struck Paredes while he was on the ground and that he "might’ve stomped his forearm to get my pole out of his hands”.

But Edgar Villatoro, another friend of Paredes, testified that Paredes never held the pole and only put his hands up to defend himself. After Paredes was on the ground, Mills “kept hitting him in the stomach with the pole” said Villatoro.

Mills' defense attorney, William Roberts called the government's witnesses inconsistent in their testimony and that the knife Paredes had during the attack was discarded by his friends.

The case is scheduled for sentencing on February 21, 2014 with Judge John Ramsey Johnson.

Megan Arellano contributed to this story.

Attorney: Mills "was only trying to protect himself" in fatal barbell beating

Ivan Natividad — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 21:37:57 -0400

Jeffrey Mills doesn't deny that he attacked Juan Paredes with a steel barbell on a Saturday afternoon in January 2012, a block from Columbia Heights metro. The beating, he says, was in self-defense.

"Jeffrey Mills had no intention of killing Mr. Paredes," Andrew Crespo, Mills' attorney, told the court in opening statements Monday, saying Paredes had threatened to stab Mills. "He was only trying to protect himself."

Mills, 50, is on trial for first-degree premeditated murder while armed in Paredes's death. Prosecutors argued Monday that Mills struck Paredes multiple times with a barbell out of anger, causing his death.

Police found Paredes on January 14, 2012 just before 2:00 p.m. near the intersection of 14th and Park Street Northwest, beaten and lying on the ground.

He was transported to a local hospital where he died of his injuries the next day. Paredes died of blunt force trauma, an autopsy found, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Prosecutors said that on the day of the murder, Paredes was outside with his friends when Mills repeatedly yelled at him to move away from the area where he was selling products, once chasing Paredes with a plastic sword into the nearby grocery store.

According to court documents, Mills, a street vendor, told police that on the day of the attack Paredes had "threatened to cut him with a machete-shaped pocket knife." Mills told detectives that Paredes stood near his vendor speaking in Spanish to other men nearby. Mills said one of the men may have stabbed him last year and that they were "taunting" him, documents say.

Kerry O'Leary, a resident of Columbia Heights, testified Monday that she often saw Mills selling products at a table on the corner of Park Road and 14th Street. Mills would sometimes lift weights with a large barbell, O'Leary said.

O'Leary told jurors that the day of the murder she saw Mills charge at Paredes with a "giant pole," hitting Paredes in the head and causing him to fall.

"He broad sided him," O'Leary said. "When [Paredes] fell on the ground he stood over him and just kept jabbing at his gut with the end of the barbell."

Lloyd Marlin, another Columbia Heights resident, told jurors that he found Paredes after the attack and sat him down on a bench nearby to wait for medical help. Marlin said Monday that while sitting with Paredes, he heard a man nearby yelling that "he had done it."

Metropolitan Police Detective Han Kim testified Monday that police found Paredes at the crime scene bleeding profusely from his head. Mills was nearby sitting next to his white van when police arrived, Kim said.

Propped up against Mills' van was the barbell Kim said was used to attack Paredes. No knife or other weapons were found at the crime scene, Kim said.

Trial is scheduled to continue tomorrow.

Probable Cause for Murder 1 Found in Columbia Heights Beating Case

Laura Amico — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:23:06 -0500

Judge William Jackson found probable cause today in the case against a DC man accused of beating Juan Paredes to death with a barbell in a busy Columbia Heights commercial area.

Jeffrey Mills was arrested Jan. 14, the same day of the fatal attack, on suspicion of assault with intent to kill. Paredes died on Jan. 15. On Wednesday prosecutors changed the charge from assault to first degree premeditated murder while armed.

At a preliminary hearing Friday, MPD Detective Dwayne Partman testified that two witnesses said they saw Mills "charge" at Paredes outside the Columbia Heights Tivoli Theater in the afternoon of Jan. 14. The witnesses said Mills struck Paredes multiple times with a pole, Partman said, adding that detectives determined that that pole was in fact a 6-foot 25 pound bar used for lifting weights.

Paredes was struck in the head and abdomen, with the wounds to his abdomen leading to his death, Partman said.

Mills' attorney, Jia Cobb, argued that there was not enough evidence to find probable cause for a first-degree premeditated murder charge, but Jackson disagreed, saying that the decision to continue beating Paredes as he "lies helpless on the ground" showed premeditation.

Jackson ordered Mills held while a Grand Jury investigates the case.

Suspect in Fatal Assault Believed Victim was "Taunting" Him

Laura Amico — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:43:33 -0500

Charging documents in a fatal assault case against Jeffrey Mills indicate that Mills may have lashed out in fear of being injured himself.

According to the documents, Mills, a street vendor, told detectives that he was approached by Juan Paredes on Saturday afternoon and that Paredes had "threatened to cut him with a machete-shaped pocket knife."

Paredes left the area, Mills told detectives, then came back. Mills told detectives that he then heard Paredes and others speaking in Spanish. Mills told detectives he does not understand Spanish and thought that one of the men with Paredes may have stabbed him last year and that they were "taunting" him.

He struck Paredes with a metal pole, Milles told detectives. A long metal barbell was recovered from the scene.

Mills has not, at this time, been charged with murder. He's due in court next Friday for a preliminary hearing on the assault charge.

Charging documents are below.

Columbia Heights Beating Victim IDed as Juan Antonio Paredes

Laura Amico — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:49:24 -0500

UPDATED
The DC Medical Examiner has determined that a man fatally beaten with a steel pole in Columbia Heights Saturday afternoon was the victim of homicide.

On Thursday MPD identified the man as 45-year-old Juan Antonio Paredes. He died Sunday, MPD said.

MPD did not identify a suspect in the case, saying only that a 50-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault with intent to kill. MPD said additional charges are pending.

A spokesman for the US Attorney's office identified the suspect as Jeffrey Mills.

A press release from MPD is below.

January 19, 2012

Homicide in the 3300 Block of 14th Street, Northwest

(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating a homicide which occurred in the 3300 block of 14th Street, Northwest.

On Saturday, January 14, 2012, at approximately 1:55 pm units from the Third District responded to a call for an assault in the 3300 block of 14th Street, Northwest. Upon arrival, they located the victim, an adult male, lying on the ground. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene and transported the victim to a local hospital.

On Sunday, January 15, 2012, at 10:15 pm, the victim later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The decedent, identified as 45-year-old Juan Antonio Paredes of Northwest, Washington DC, was subsequently transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner pending an autopsy.

On Monday, January 16, 2012, a 50-year-old male was charged with Assault with the Intent to Kill While Armed in this case. On Wednesday, January 18, 2012, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death in this case as blunt force trauma and the manner of death as a homicide. Additional charges are pending in this case.

The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons wanted for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIME (1-888-919-2746). Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.