Larnell C Allen | Homicide Watch DC

Larnell Allen Sentenced to 19 Years in 2010 Murder of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.

Sam Pearson — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:43:03 -0400

Larnell Allen was sentenced to 19 years in prison Friday for his role in the 2010 shooting death of 17-year-old Springarn High School student Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. – with credit for the nearly three years he has already served.

Allen pled guilty to second-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

A friend of Sharps, who was also shot but survived his injuries, told police he and Sharps were crossing Neal Street in D.C.’s Trinidad neighborhood Nov. 8, 2010 when they were confronted by three men.

Kwan Kearney, who was with Allen, asked the teens “Are you reaching? Are you reaching?” then “pulled out a handgun” and began shooting at them. Kearney had been released from jail that same day, prosecutors later wrote in court filings.

Allen, a witness told police, "was just there, he didn’t do nothing."

Kearney was convicted by a jury of killing Sharps, and was also convicted in a separate case of killing Jamal Demetrius Wilson in Nov. 2010. The convictions brought Kearney, 21, a combined sentence of 105 years behind bars.

Allen later told police he pointed a gun in the direction of Sharps and shot at him, but didn't know if the shots hit him.

“I withdrew my gun from my hip and I fired," Allen testified at Kearney's trial. "It’s like backing him up. One fires, we all fire.”

Allen will be required to serve five years of supervised release at the conclusion of his sentence.

Sentencing documents are below:

Larnell Allen sentencing documents (PDF)Larnell Allen sentencing documents (Text)

"First and O" Murder Trial Expected to Start Today

Laura Amico — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:14:29 -0400

Just one month after being sentenced to a 60-year prison term for shooting and killing Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr, Kwan Kearney is due to stand trial again.

Kearney, who turned 21 on Wednesday, is suspected in the shooting death of Jamal Wilson. He and his co-defendant, Jeremy Risper, are expected to stand trial in that case today.

Wilson was shot through the chest early in the morning of Nov. 14 after being pursued by two men in the Truxton Circle neighborhood. MPD Homicide Detective Hosam Nasr, who testified in a preliminary hearing in the case, said police believe Wilson was shot on a playground in the unit block of P Street where bullet casings were found. Emergency responders found Wilson further down the block. Wilson fell on the playground after being shot, got up, ran from the scene, fell again, stood up with assistance from a friend, and ran again before collapsing, Nasr said.

Wilson was 19 years old and, Prosecutor David Sayboldt said at the preliminary hearing, part of the "First and ~~Oak~~ O" crew. Kearney and Risper were part of that crew, too, Sayboldt said. And the three of them were "beefing" about a man nicknamed "Phsycho."

Kearney's brother and Risper and testified in a murder trial against "Psycho" and "Psycho" had been convicted, Sayboldt said. Some members of “First and ~~Oak~~ O” were upset that the men had worked with prosecutors.

Wilson’s death is linked to the killing of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.—which took place just six days prior—by a gun. Prosecutors allege that Kearney shot at Wilson using a gun that Larnell Allen had used to shoot Sharps. Prosecutors believe Kearney and Risper stole the gun from Allen sometime after Sharps was killed. Allen pleaded guilty in the death of Sharps; Kearney was convicted of first-degree murder while armed.

Judge Thomas Motley is expected to hear the case beginning at 9:30 a.m.

3-20-12: A correction has been made to this story. The crew associated with the case is known as "First and O," not "First and Oak" as initially reported.

"You all got the wrong man," Kwan Kearney Tells Judge at Sentencing

Laura Amico — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:17:24 -0500

Speaking Friday for the first time about the murder charge against him, and that he was convicted of, Kwan Kearney told Judge Robert Richter that he was innocent.

"My condolences to the family," Kearney said at sentencing, turning slightly to look over his shoulder and glance at the packed courtroom. "But you all got the wrong man. I ain't never killed a man in my life."

Kearney did not take the stand during his week long trial in December. A jury found him guilty of first degree murder while armed with aggravating circumstances in the death of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. and assault with intent to kill with regard to the shooting of Sharp's friend De’Onte Bilbro.

On Friday Richter sentenced Kearney to 45 years in prison on the murder charge and 15 years on the assault charge. The sentences are to be served consecutively, for a total of 60 years in prison.

Dressed in a bright orange jail jumpsuit and a matching orange kufi ringed with green, Kearney stood still and quiet while Richter told him the sentence, and while Richter admonished him for his life choices.

"This was a brutal, senseless crime," Richter said. "It appears that Mr. Kearney was on this path for several years and it was inevitable that he would end up behind bars."

Kearney’s attorney, Gene Johnson, had argued that it was another man— Larnell Allen— who was responsible for shooting Sharps and De’Onte Bilbro. Allen was charged as a co-defendant in the case, but testified as a cooperating witness.

On the witness stand he narrated the shooting that left Sharps dead and injured Bilbro. Bilbro also testified about what took place.

Bilbro, then 18, said he and Sharps, 17, were walking home from a nearby gas station, when three guys walked towards them on the sidewalk.

“I looked to see who I was walking past and the tallest one said ‘Whatchya reaching for?’” Bilbro testified. “Joe said, ‘We ain’t reaching for nothing.”

That’s when the shots rang out, Bilbro said, he fell to the ground injured. His left leg lay up against his stomach; he later learned that his femur had been shattered.

Testified Allen, “As soon as [Kearney] pulls the gun he fires,” Allen said of the run-in between Sharps, Bilbro, Kearney, a 14-year-old, and himself. “I withdrew my gun from my hip and I fired. It’s like backing him up. One fires, we all fire.”

On Friday prosecutor David Saybolt said he asked Allen why the shooting happened. Why Sharps was killed and Bilbro injured.

"Kwan was just fucking with him. He liked to fuck with people," Saybolt said Allen told him.

According to court records, Allen is due in court March 27 for a status hearing in connection with the charges against him in this case.

Kearney is suspected of a second shooting, which killed Jamal Demetrius Wilson, that took place the same week Sharps was killed. A jury trial is scheduled to begin in that case on March 12.

A press release from the US Attorney's Office is below.

District Man Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison For First-Degree Murder While Armed
and Other Charges in Random Slaying of Honor Roll Student- Victim and His Friend Were Accosted and Shot While Walking on Street-

WASHINGTON - Kwan Kearney, 20, was sentenced today to 60 years in prison on charges stemming from the slaying of a 17-year-old honor roll student and the wounding of a second teenager in a random attack last year, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Kearney, of Washington, D.C., was convicted by a jury in December 2011 of charges of first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, and a firearms offense. He was sentenced in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the Honorable Robert I. Richter.

According to the government’s evidence, on the evening of November 8, 2010, the decedent, Joseph Sharps, Jr., had just finished his music homework and was visiting with an 18-year-old friend at his home in Northeast Washington. Joseph borrowed $2 from his mother, and he and his friend decided to go to a nearby gas station to buy cigarettes. About 8:30 p.m., on their way back to Joseph’s home, the teenagers passed by Kearney and two other men on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of Holbrook Street NE. As Joseph walked, he had one hand in his pockets and with the other was talking on his cell phone.

As the two groups of young men passed each other, Kearney bumped Joseph. “Stop, pump-faking,” said Kearney. “I’m not pump-faking,” replied Joseph. Kearney confronted him again – “What you reaching for?” Joseph said he wasn’t reaching for anything. According to the testimony of one eyewitness, Joseph then raised his hands and shrugged, as if to say that he had no idea what Kearney was talking about. Kearney then pulled a Colt .38-caliber revolver from his waistband and shot Joseph in the belly. Kearney kept shooting. Joseph’s friend was hit in the leg, and Joseph was also hit in the leg and shoulder.

Joseph managed to call 911, stating, “I’m hit, I’m down on Holbrook.” Soon after that, he died. The wound to the hip went through an artery, causing Joseph to bleed to death on the street.

One of Kearney’s associates also fired a weapon during the attack. Afterward, the assailants ran from the scene.

Neither Joseph Sharps, Jr. nor his friend knew Kearney until they walked by each other on the street that night. In addition to being an honor roll student, Joseph was a varsity basketball and football athlete at Spingarn High School.

“Kwan Kearney robbed our community of a bright, energetic young man who had an outstanding future ahead of him for simply no reason at all,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “For his destructive and cowardly actions, Kearney will now spend his adulthood behind bars. Today is just another example of the terrible toll that youth violence plays in our communities – destroying the lives of not only the victims but of the perpetrators of violence as well.

Kearney was arrested eight days after the shooting and has been in custody ever since. A co-defendant earlier pled guilty to charges in the case.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department, including Detectives Anthony Paci and Sean Caine, Officers Douglas Hain, Jerry Afari, Herbert Nicholls and Steven Bias, and Mobile Crime Technicians Robert McCollum, Leother Strong, Michael DePrince and Fred Brown. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Delissa Rivers, Legal Assistant Lashone Samuels, Intelligence Specialist Sharon Johnson, Litigation Support Specialists Leif Hickling and William Henderson, and Victim Witness Advocate Marcey Rinker. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney David Saybolt, who prosecuted the case.

"Guilty" Verdict in Kwan Kearney Murder Case

Laura Amico — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:04:05 -0500

Kwan Kearney was found guilty today of first-degree murder while armed in the shooting death of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.

The verdict came at noon today; the jury deliberated for approximately four hours before finding Kearney guilty on each of the eight counts and the aggravating circumstance that the crime was random.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10. The sentencing range on first-degree murder alone is 30 years to life. The other charges Kearney was found guilty of were: assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault and four weapons charges.

Kearney's attorney had argued that it was another man-- Larnell Allen-- who was responsible for shooting Sharps and De'Onte Bilbro.

Kearney is also awaiting trial in another murder case, the shooting death of Jamal Demetrius Wilson. A jury trial in that case is scheduled to being March 12, 2012.

A press release from the US Attorney's Office is below.

District Man Convicted of First-Degree Murder While Armed and Other Charges in Random Slaying of Honor Roll Student - Victim and His Friend Were Accosted and Shot While Walking on Street-

WASHINGTON - Kwan Kearney, 20, was convicted by a jury today of first-degree murder while armed and other charges in the slaying of a 17-year-old honor roll student and the wounding of a second teenager in a random attack that took place last year on a Northeast Washington street, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Kearney, of Washington, D.C., also was convicted of charges of assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, and a firearms offense. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Robert I. Richter scheduled sentencing for February 10, 2012. Kearney faces a potential sentence of life in prison.

According to the government’s evidence, on the evening of November 8, 2010, the decedent, Joseph Sharps, Jr., had just finished his music homework and was visiting with an 18-year-old friend at his home in Northeast Washington. Joseph borrowed $2 from his mother, and he and his friend decided to go to a nearby gas station to buy cigarettes. About 8:30 p.m., on their way back to Joseph’s home, the teenagers passed by Kearney and two other men on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of Holbrook Street NE. As Joseph walked, he had one hand in his pockets and with the other was talking on his cell phone.

As the two groups of young men passed each other, Kearney bumped Joseph. “Stop, pump-faking,” said Kearney. “I’m not pump-faking,” replied Joseph. Kearney confronted him again – “What you reaching for?” Joseph said he wasn’t reaching for anything. According to the testimony of one eyewitness, Joseph then raised his hands and shrugged, as if to say that he had no idea what Kearney was talking about. Kearney then pulled a Colt .38-caliber revolver from his waistband and shot Joseph in the belly. Kearney kept shooting. Joseph’s friend was hit in the leg, and Joseph was also hit in the leg and shoulder.

Joseph managed to call 911, stating, “I’m hit, I’m down on Holbrook.” Soon after that, he died. The wound to the hip went through an artery, causing Joseph to bleed to death on the street.

One of Kearney’s associates also fired a weapon during the attack. Afterward, the assailants ran from the scene.

Neither Joseph Sharps, Jr. nor his friend knew Kearney until they walked by each other on the street that night. In addition to being an honor roll student, Joseph was a varsity basketball and football athlete at Spingarn High School.

“In this tragic case, one teenager killed another for no reason at all,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Joseph Sharps, Jr. was an honor roll student and varsity athlete who was gunned down in a senseless act of violence. Today’s first-degree murder conviction, which could place the defendant behind bars for the rest of his life, reflects this community’s resolve to protect our neighborhoods from those who are intent on bringing murder and mayhem to our city streets. ”

Kearney was arrested eight days after the shooting and has been in custody ever since. A co-defendant earlier pled guilty to charges in the case.

In announcing the jury’s verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department, including Detectives Anthony Paci and Sean Caine, Officers Douglas Hain, Jerry Afari, Herbert Nicholls and Steven Bias, and Mobile Crime Technicians Robert McCollum, Leother Strong, Michael DePrince and Fred Brown. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including paralegal specialist Delissa Rivers, legal assistant Lashone Samuels, intelligence specialist Sharon Johnson, litigation support specialists Leif Hickling and William Henderson, and victim witness advocate Marcey Rinker. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney David Saybolt, who prosecuted the case.

Jury Deliberations Begun in Kwan Kearney Murder Case

Laura Amico — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:17:36 -0500

A jury of six men and six women are now deliberating in the case accusing Kwan Kearney of shooting at two Spingarn High School students, killing one of them.

Jurors were dismissed to deliberate at 3:35 Thursday afternoon. If they do not reach a verdict today, they will be back tomorrow to continue deliberations.

Kearney, 20, did not take the stand to defend himself against the accusation that on Nov. 8, 2010 he, Larnell Allen, and a 15-year-old were involved in killing Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. and seriously wounding De'Onte Bilbro.

In closing arguments, Kearney's defense attorney, Gene Johnson, told jurors that Kearney was not guilty in the attacks.

"It was Allen who shot Mr. Bilbro and killed Mr. Sharps," Johnson said.

Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and assault with intent to kill in connection with the case. The minimum sentence for those charges is 85 years, Prosecutor David Saybolt said. In return for his testimony in Kearney's case, in which Allen stated that Kearney shot at Bilbro and Sharps and that he pulled his weapon and fired, too, to "back up" Kearney, prosecutors have agreed to ask the sentencing judge to be lenient with him.

"Two bullets. Two guns. Two shooters. Larnell Allen and Kwan Kearney," Saybolt said in closing arguments. "Hold [Kearney] accountable," he told jurors.

But Johnson argued that jurors don't know that there were two shooters. Two of the government's witnesses, Allen and the then-fifeteen-year-old, are "criminals" with limited credibility, Johnson said. Of the other eyewitness to the shooting, Bilbro himself, Johnson said his story gave no weight to the government's theory that both Kearney and Allen shot weapons that night.

Bilbro testified that "the tall one," or Kearney, fired first, striking him in the leg. Johnson said the bullet that struck Bilbro was known to have been fired from Allen's gun. Lacking this basic truth, Johnson called into question whether Bilbro's recollection of what happened was accurate at all.

Saybolt countered that Johnson's facts were incorrect. The bullet that struck Bilbro was never found, he said. A bullet fired from Allen's gun though is known to have struck Sharps' leg, he said.

"One fires, we all fire."

Laura Amico — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:49:55 -0500

"9-1-1 it's an emergency, please send a SWAT team with urgency," Larnell Allen rapped from the witness stand at Kwan Kearney's trial Tuesday.

The words, a rough approximation of Gucci Mane's popular song "911 Emergency," had been sung by Allen before. Together on Nov. 8, 2010, he, Kearney and others sang them out, laughing, as they heard sirens responding to the Trinidad street where Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. and De'Onte Bilbro had just been shot. A shooting that Allen said he and Kearney both took part in.

"As soon as [Kearney] pulls the gun he fires," Allen said of the run-in between Sharps, Bilbro, Kearney, a 14-year-old, and himself. "I withdrew my gun from my hip and I fired. It's like backing him up. One fires, we all fire."

That shooting killed 17-year-old Sharps and seriously wounded then-18-year-old Bilbro. Families of the two young men were in court Tuesday, both in the audience and on the witness stand. Bilbro, too, took the witness stand, describing for jurors how he and his best friend were walking home from a nearby gas station, when three guys walked towards them on the sidewalk.

"I looked to see who I was walking past and the tallest one said 'Whatchya reaching for?'" Bilbro remembered. "Joe said, 'We ain't reaching for nothing."

That's when the shots rang out, Bilbro said, he fell to the ground injured. His left leg lay up against his stomach; he later learned that his femur had been shattered. Still, he got up and ran across the street thinking that he could go get help. But once across the street, his leg crumpled under him and he fell, again.

He called his mom on his cell phone.

"Mom," Dorothea Bilbro told the jury her son said when she picked up the phone. "I've been shot. Around the corner."

She jumped in her car and drove around the corner. "I saw Joe and I saw De'Onte," she remembered. She checked on her son, then ran to his best friend.

"This is Ma Bilbro," she said she told Sharps. "You're going to be alright."

Earlier, Prosecutor David Saybolt had asked De'Onte Bilbro: Who was the "tall guy" that shot at him and his best friend?

Bilbro stood up from the witness stand and pointed at Kearney, dressed in a light pink button-down shirt and a striped tie.

The trial is expected to resume Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.

Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. Murder Trial Underway

Laura Amico — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:08:27 -0500

The eight men and six women who will decide whether or not Kwan Kearney is guilty of killing Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. heard their first overview of the case Monday afternoon.

Joseph Alonzo Sharps, a 17-year-old Spingarn High junior, honor student, varsity athlete, was killed "for nothing," Prosecutor David Saybolt told jurors in his opening statement.

"He was killed because he was walking down the street in Trinidad," Saybolt said. "He was killed because he was walking down the street with his hands in his pockets."

Kearney's attorney, Gene Johnson, declined to make an opening statement. Johnson told the court earlier in the day, before jury selection, that Kearney didn't commit the crime. "Someone else did," Johnson said.

Kearney is charged with first-degree murder while armed in Sharps' death last November. He is also charged with assault with intent to kill and aggravated assault on a second victim who survived, and various weapons charges related to the double shooting.

Saybolt told jurors the witnesses they'll hear from are those who were at the scene that night, including Larnell Allen, a friend of Kearney's who was also charged in connection with the case. Allen has pleaded guilty, Saybolt said. Another person with them, a 14-year-old, also has an agreement with the government and is expected to testify, Saybolt said.

Describing the shooting for jurors, Saybolt said Kearney and Allen bumped into Sharps and Sharps' friend, argued with them briefly, then, after the two groups passed on another, Kearney called out to Sharps "are you reaching?" Sharps said he was not, then the gunshots rang out. Sharps and his friend were struck. His friend, also a 17-year-old junior at Spingarn High, survived.

In a twist of "small town" fate, Sharps' friend and Allen were first cousins who hadn't seen each other in years, Saybolt said.

Attorneys expect the trial to last about a week.

Larnell Allen will not Stand Trial in October for Death of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.

Laura Amico — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:55:29 -0400

One of the two men charged in the shooting death of teen Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr is not standing trial in the case as scheduled in October.

AUSA David Saybolt today said that Kwan Kearney's trial date of Oct. 31 remains, but that Larnell Allen will not go to trial on that date.

"Can't comment on why," he said.

Kearney and Allen were arraigned each on a charge of first-degree murder while armed, as well as various weapons charges, in May. They both pleaded innocent.

Saybolt added that Kearney and Jeremy Risper, charged in the death of Jamal Wilson, will be tried in that case on March 12. In that case both men have rejected plea offers, Saybolt said.

"Not guilty" Pleas in Death of Jamal Wilson

Laura Amico — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:47:54 -0400

Appearing lighthearted and occasionally smiling, Kwan Kearney and Jeremy Risper each entered a plea of "not guilty" today to charges related to the November slaying of Jamal Wilson in Northwest D.C.

Kearney and Risper are both charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed as well as various firearms offenses.

Wilson, a 19-year-old known as "Mally," was shot through the chest after being pursued by two men in the Truxton Circle neighborhood, MPD Homicide Detective Hosam Nasr testified at a preliminary hearing for the case.

Six days before Wilson was shot, 17-year-old Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. was shot and killed in Northeast DC. Nasr said at the preliminary hearing that a .45 caliber gun recovered from the scene of Wilson's murder is believed to be the same gun that was used in Sharps' murder. Kearney is charged in both cases and the government has extended a plea deal that offers a 45-year sentence in exchange for pleading guilty in both cases.

On Tueday Judge Thomas Motley set a status hearing date for Sept. 22, by which time Kearney and Risper will have had to decide whether or not they wish to plead guilty or proceed to trial. Motley set a trial date of March 12 in the case.

Kearney and Larnell Allen, charged in Sharps' death, are scheduled for a status hearing on Friday and a jury trial on Oct. 31.

Motley Holds to Trial Date in Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. Murder Trial

Laura Amico — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:01:05 -0400

A jury trial date has been set for the two men accused of killing 17-year-old Springarn High School student Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. in November 2010.

Kwan Kearney and Larnell Allen appeared in court Tuesday for a status conference in the case. Kearney is also suspected in the death of Jamal Wilson, six days after Sharps was killed. Status hearings for both cases were heard together Tuesday.

Kearney and Allen were indicted in Sharps death by the Grand Jury in May, each on one count of first degree murder while armed with the aggravating circumstance that the murder was a drive-by or random shooting. They are both also charged with various counts of unlawful weapon possession and assault with intent to kill and aggravated assault. The assault charges are in connection with Sharps' friend, who was injured in the same shooting.

The friend told police that he and Sharps were crossing Neal Street in D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood when they were confronted by three men, according to the criminal complaints against Allen and Kearney. The complaint alleges Kearney asked the teens "Are you reaching? Are you reaching?" then "pulled out a handgun" and began shooting at them.

The injured teen identified Allen in a photo array as being with Kearney at the shooting. According to the complaint, he told police of Allen, "I see him, number 6. He was just there, he didn't do nothing. But I fell to the ground and really don't know what he did."

Assistant US Attorney David Saybolt warned Judge Thomas Motley on Tuesday that delays in DNA processing could mean that evidence is not processed in time for trial. Motley, however, urged Saybolt and Kearney's and Allen's defense attorneys that he was not inclined to postpone the trial date.

Kearney and Allen are scheduled to stand trial Oct. 31. Status hearings are set in the case for July 22 and Aug. 23.

Gang Beef Over Testifying at Trial Led to Jamal Wilson's Death, Prosecutor Says

Laura Amico — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:34:40 -0400

By the prosecutor's telling of it, an early morning pursuit through Truxton Circle and the ensuing shoot-out that left 19-year-old Jamal Wilson dead started over a beef about a man nicknamed "Psycho."

Wilson, Assistant US Attorney David Saybolt said Tuesday, was part of the "First and ~~Oak~~ O" crew. A crew that also included Kwan Kearney and Jeremy Risper, the two men suspected in Wilson's death.

As Saybolt tells the story, "First and ~~Oak~~ O" was having a disagreement. Kearney's brother and Risper had testified in a murder trial against "Psycho," and "Psycho" had just been convicted. Some members of "First and ~~Oak~~ O" were upset that the men had worked with prosecutors.

Wilson was shot through the chest early in the morning of Nov. 14 after being pursued by two men in the Truxton Circle neighborhood. Metro PD Homicide Detective Hosam Nasr, who testified in a preliminary hearing in the case, said police believe Wilson was shot on a playground in the unit block of P Street where bullet casings were found. Emergency responders found Wilson further down the block. Wilson fell on the playground after being shot, got up, ran from the scene, fell again, stood up with assistance from a friend, and ran again before collapsing, Nasr said.

Nasr said surveillance video of Kearney and Risper was recorded around the time of the shooting. According to Nasr, the video showed Kearney carrying a "dark object" that was being carried in a way that was "consistent" with how a gun would be held.

Prosecutors believe that Kearney is the one who fired the fatal shots at Wilson. Saybolt said Tuesday that they don't believe Risper fired at Wilson, but that they are pursuing a charge of first degree murder while armed with the belief that Risper "aided and abetted" Kearney in shooting Wilson by participating in the pursuit.

Kearney and Risper have not been indicted by a Grand Jury, which has until Aug 19 to indict the case.

Wilson's death is linked to the killing of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.--just six days earlier--by a gun. Saybolt said Tuesday that the gun prosecutors believe Kearney fired at Wilson was used by Larnell Allen to shoot Sharps. Kearney is suspected in both cases. Saybolt said prosecutors believe Kearney and Risper stole the gun from Allen sometime after Sharps was killed.

Status hearings are set in the case for July 22 and Aug. 23.

3-20-12: A correction has been made to this story. The crew associated with the case is known as "First and O," not "First and Oak" as initially reported.

No Indictments Yet in Six Murder Cases

Laura Amico — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:37:11 -0500

Six murder cases were before Judge Thomas Motley Friday morning for felony status conferences and each of them resulted in new status conference dates.

Kwan Kearney and Jeremy Risper are scheduled to reappear on April 1 in the case accusing them of killing Jamal Wilson on Nov. 14, 2010. The two men have not yet been indicted by the grand jury. The government has approximately six more months to file charges against them; by law a person must be indicted within nine months of being presented with a murder charge.

Kearney will appear again on April 1 with co-defendant Larnell Allen in the case accusing them of killing Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. on Nov. 8, 2010. No indictments have been handed up yet in that case, either.

Rickey Pharr is due back in Judge Motley's courtroom on June 10. The victim in that case, Angelo Jones, was shot to death Oct. 2, 2010. The case has not yet been indicted; the government has until mid-August to formally charge Pharr.

Robert Carter will appear again on May 6; his case has not yet been indicted. Homicide Watch reported it earlier here.

Preliminary Hearing for Kwan Kearney and Larnell Allen Delayed

Laura Amico — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:52:01 -0500

A preliminary hearing in the murder of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. was continued today to next year, when one the attorney of one of the defendants told Judge Herbert Dixon that she had not had enough time to adequately prepare for the hearing.

Kwan Kearney and Larnell Allen are each charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sharps. Allen was not present in the courtroom today for unspecified medical reasons.

Kearney and Allen have been rescheduled to appear in court Jan. 7, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.

The Week Ahead

Laura Amico — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:18:48 -0500

Following are scheduled court appearances for murder cases. This information is current as of Friday, 2 p.m. and will be re-verified throughout the week. 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.

Monday, Dec. 6, 2010

9:30 a.m. Kwan Kearney in courtroom 215 (Judge Herbert Dixon) for a preliminary hearing in a first degree murder case. The victim, Jamal Wilson, was shot Sunday Nov. 14, 2010 on P Street NW D.C. Kearney is represented by attorney Gene Johnson. The case number is CF1 021604. Charging documents are online here.

9:25 a.m. Jeremy Risper in courtroom 215 (Judge Herbert Dixon) for a preliminary hearing in a first degree murder case. The victim, Jamal Wilson, was shot Sunday Nov. 14, 2010 on P Street NW D.C. Risper is represented by attorney Dana Page. The case number is CF1 021764. Charging documents are online here.

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010

9:30 a.m. Joseph Spinks in courtroom 310 (Judge Lynn Leibovitz) for a preliminary hearing in a first degree murder case. The victim, Delonte Butler, was killed Saturday, Sept. 25. 2010 in southeast D.C. Spinks is represented by attorney Eugene Ohm. The case number is CF1 018278.

Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010

9:30 a.m. Ramona Gray in courtroom 320 (Judge Gerald Fisher) for a felony status conference in a first degree murder case. The victim, Shemese Grant, was stabbed to death Aug 31 in a deli parking lot in southeast D.C. Gray is represented by attorney Premal Dharia. The case number is CF1 016312. Charging documents are online here.

Friday, Dec. 10, 2010

9:30 a.m. Kwan Kearney in courtroom 215 (Judge Herbert Dixon) for a preliminary hearing in a first degree murder case. The victim, Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr., was shot Monday Nov. 8 in northeast D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood. Kearney is represented by attorney John Briley. The case number is CF1 022068. Charging documents are online here.

9:30 a.m. Larnell Allen in courtroom 215 (Judge Herbert Dixon) for a preliminary hearing in a first degree murder case. The victim, Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr., was shot Monday Nov. 8 in northeast D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood. Allen is represented by attorney Lauren Bernstein. The case number is CF1 022108. Charging documents are online here.

9:30 a.m. Marvin Palencia in courtroom 302 (Judge Michael Rankin) for a preliminary hearing in a first degree murder case. The victim, Jacobo Vazquez, is believed to have been shot to death Nov. 11 at his workplace on Constitution Avenue in D.C. Palencia is represented by attorney Lauren Bernstein. The case number is CF1 021874. Charging documents are online here.

Charging Documents in Death of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.

Laura Amico — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:17:31 -0500

Larnell C. Allen and Kwan Kearney were charged last week with first degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Springarn High School student Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.

They were identified by Sharps' friend who was shot along with Sharps but survived.

The friend told police that he and Sharps were crossing Neal Street in D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood when they were confronted by three men, according to the criminal complaints against Allen and Kearney. The complaint alleges Kearney asked the teens "Are you reaching? Are you reaching?" then "pulled out a handgun" and began shooting at them.

In an interview with Metro PD Detective Anthony Paci on Nov. 26, Allen waived his Miranda Rights and, according to the complaint, "admitted that he pointed the gun in [Sharps'] general direction but he did not know if his shots struck [Sharps] or not."

Allen and Kearney are due in court Dec. 10 at 9:30 a.m. for preliminary hearings. The third man who was with them at the time of the shooting has not been identified and Metro Police have only announced two arrests in the case.

More on Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. and the cases is on HWDC.