Lennard Sweeney | Homicide Watch DC

Charges Against Lennard Sweeney Dropped

Amelia Rufer — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 16:46:18 -0500

Prosecutors dropped all charges against Lennard Sweeney Monday. He had been accused of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 38-year-old Edward Eugene Hall, Jr. on September 9.

"The U.S. Attorney’s Office dismissed the charge without prejudice and the case remains under investigation," spokesman William Miller said. "Because the investigation is continuing, we have no further comment."

Sweeney, 23, was arrested on September 20 on suspicion of first-degree murder while armed. He was released six days later on the condition that he check in weekly with pretrial services.

Hall died on September 10 after he was stabbed three times the night before in the 4000 block of 1st Street Southeast, documents say.

Surveillance footage from a 7-Eleven showed Hall entering the store while an unknown subject dressed in all back stood outside.

A police officer identified the man in the photo as Sweeney, who the officer often saw in front of that 7-Eleven.

Lennard Sweeney Released in Edward Hall Jr Murder

Amelia Rufer — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 16:53:46 -0400

Judge John Ramsey Johnson released Lennard Sweeney from custody Friday while he awaits a preliminary hearing.

Sweeney is suspected of first-degree murder while armed in connection with the stabbing death of Edward Eugene Hall Jr. He will be required to make weekly in-person check-ins to Pretrial Services.

On September 9, police found Hall stabbed in the 4000 block of 1st Street Southeast bleeding from the abdomen. According to charging documents, two witnesses eventually identified Sweeney in connection with his death.

Prosecutors had no objections to Judge Johnson's ruling, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Miller requested mandatory drug screening for Sweeney. Judge Johnson denied the request on the basis that it qualified as an unnecessary burden.

The charging documents state that two witnesses told police that Hall was chased by two men, one dressed in all black. The two men caught Hall and beat him, the witnesses said.

Both witnesses eventually identified the man dressed in black as Sweeney through photo identification, documents say.

However, the second witness, who initially picked an incorrect photo, expressed hesitancy about its choice after leaving the interview room. The second witness then identified a photo of Sweeney.

"I was concentrating more on the dreads than the faces of the photo," the second witness told police.

Sweeney's preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 17.

Lennard Sweeney Held in Edward Eugene Hall Jr Murder

Megan Arellano — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 14:47:31 -0400

Lennard Sweeney, 23, was held Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder while armed in connection to the stabbing death of Edward Eugune Hall Jr..

Hall was found On Sept. 9 in the 4000 block of 1st Street Southeast, bleeding from the abdomen, charging documents say. Before falling unconscious, Hall told officers, "I was robbed by two males."

An autopsy later found that 38-year-old Hall was stabbed three times: once to the chest, once to the stomach, and once to the right side abdomen.

Charging documents in the case state say surveillance footage from the nearby 7-Eleven showed Hall enter the store while a black man in all black clothing loitered outside. A picture of the man in all black was placed in an MPD database, documents say.

Two days later, a police officer identified the man in all black as Sweeney, a man that the officer saw regularly, "oftentimes in front of, or inside of, the [7-Eleven] store on Martin Luther King Avenue, Southwest," documents state.

According to the documents, two witnesses who were together in a car told police separately that they each saw two men chase Hall out of an alley that runs between Atlantic and Brandywine Streets Southeast, less than a mile away from the 7-Eleven.

One witness told police that one of the men chasing Hall was wearing all black, and that the other wore a red shirt and jeans. When the two men caught Hall, they hit him in the upper head and body, the witness said, according to the documents. When Hall fell to the ground, the two men continued to beat him, according to the witness.

The other witness said that Hall was "running for his life" out of the alley, but one of the men cut off his getaway path. Then the other man, who was wearing all black, approached Hall. The second witness said the two men began then punching and kicking Hall, including after Hall fell to the ground.

Both witnesses eventually identified the man wearing all black as Sweeney through photo identification, documents say. But the second witness initially picked out an incorrect photo and expressed hesitancy about its choice after leaving the interview room.

Back in the interview room, the second witness explained, "I was concentrating more on the dreads than the faces of the photo," documents say. Then, the second witness changed its choice to a photo of Sweeney.

Sweeney is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 26 at 9:30 before Judge John Ramsey Johnson.

A copy of the charging documents will be added below.

Lennard Sweeney Arrested in Death of Edward Eugene Hall Jr

Chris Amico — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 14:44:04 -0400

Lennard Sweeney, 23, was arrested Friday on suspicion of first degree felony murder while armed in the death of Edward Eugene Hall Jr, police said Saturday.

Hall, 38, died from on Sept. 10 a stab wound the night before. He was found at approximately 11:07 pm, Sept. 9, at the intersection of 1st and Brandywine Streets Southeast.

MPD's full press release on Sweeney's arrest is below:

September 20, 2014

Arrest Made in Homicide: 1st and Brandywine Streets, Southeast

(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced an arrest has been made in the stabbing death of 38-year-old Edward Eugene Hall Jr., which occurred on Tuesday, September 9, 2014 at approximately 11:07 pm, at the intersection of 1st and Brandywine Streets, Southeast.

On Friday, September 19, 2014, members of the Seventh District arrested 23-year-old Lennard Sweeney of Southwest, DC, pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant charging him with First Degree Felony Murder while Armed in the death of Edward Eugene Hall Jr.