Steven Vondell Williams | Homicide Watch DC

What We're Reading: New Deli Commemorates June Grace Lim

Kristian Hernandez — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:47:04 -0500

Washington City Paper reports that a new restaurant called Heaven & H has opened at the same address where June Grace Lim was murdered outside her deli in June 2012. But rather than hide Lim's shooting death, the restaurant pays tribute to Lim's impact on the surrounding community with its name, menu items named for Lim, and a mural with her face.

New owner and chef Donte Beal remembers how Lim became like family to him years ago:

Beal met June Lim while working at Ultra Style Unisex Salon, the barbershop next door to Grace Deli, in 2006. Every day, he visited the shop to grab a bite to eat or play lotto. If he didn’t have money one day, she’d let him pay later. If he brought in his son, she’d give him free candy. Sometimes she’d even play his lottery numbers for him and set the tickets aside.

“She was a really nice lady and she helped a lot of people. She would help those who she felt were sincere,” he says. “She went with the flow. She knew me, I knew her. It was kind of like a family.”

Read the full story here.

"I take full responsibility," says Steven Williams at Sentencing for Death of Grace Deli Owner

Penny Ray — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:31:01 -0400

On June 14, 2012, at about 5:30 a.m., Hae Soon Lim arrived at Grace Deli, the popular store she owned on H Street in Northeast D.C. She parked her vehicle directly in front, walked to the carry-out door and began to open the lock when Steven Vondell Williams, a convicted robber and occasional customer at Lim's deli, approached her with the intent to rob the store.

Grace Deli never opened that morning, nor has it opened any morning since.

Police found 65-year-old Lim lying on the floor behind the counter of the deli with a single gunshot wound to the back of her neck. Two cash registers, one used for general transactions and one for lottery sales, were found on the counter, empty; the store's ATM was discovered open and empty; and a handbag Lim used to carry hundreds of dollars in cash from her home to the store each morning was never recovered at all.

An empty handgun holster was found next to Lim’s body. Investigators later determined that Williams' DNA matched samples recovered from the holster and from one of the empty cash drawers.

Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with Lim's death in April. He was sentenced by Judge Robert Morin Friday to 27 years in prison in accordance with that plea agreement.

“I take full responsibility for what I did,” Williams said at sentencing. “I make no excuses; I am truly sorry for all the pain I have caused everybody.”

Lim's son, Peter Lim, attended the sentencing and spoke about the financial and emotional hardship the family has endured since his mother's death. He said that having to celebrate birthdays and holidays without her for the first time has been particularly difficult. And in September, he said, Lim's first grandchild, Peter Lim's son, was born; the moment was bittersweet.

“[Hae Soon Lim] was really excited for her first grandchild to be born,” Peter Lim told an emotional courtroom. “The hardest part is that she won't be there to see him grow. It hurts my heart that my mom will never be there to hold him and be a grandparent.”

Peter Lim said that since his mother's death he has really come to understand the positive impact she had on the community. Hae Soon Lim saw beyond racial, economic and gender divide; and she would often prepare food and give it to homeless people at cost, even though deli profits were small, Peter said.

“I always knew my mother was a really good person,” Peter Lim said. “But through this tragedy I have come to realize she was a great person.”

Judge Morin said Friday that the case involving Lim's death was Williams' sixth conviction and twentieth arrest, some of which were for armed robbery. At the time of Lim's murder, Williams was out on parole, Morin said.

Sentencing documents are below.

Steven Williams Government Aid in Sentencing (PDF)Steven Williams Government Aid in Sentencing (Text)

Steven Williams Pleads Guilty to Murder of Hae Soon Lim

Penny Ray — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:48:50 -0400

Steven Vondell Williams pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Hae Soon Lim; he is scheduled to be sentenced June 21.

Lim, 65, was found lying on the floor behind the counter of Grace Deli, the business she owned at the intersection of 7th and H Street Northeast. She suffered from a single gunshot wound to the back of her neck.

The plea agreement states that on June 14, 2012, a police security camera located one block from Grace Deli recorded a vehicle that looked to be Lim's park directly in front of the deli at around 5:30 a.m. A person then crosses H Street and interacts with the person who exited the vehicle.

Police believe that the person who exited the vehicle was Lim, the documents say that the distance and the resolution of the camera make it difficult to determine the nature of the interaction.

Police found an empty handgun holster next to Lim's body. Williams' DNA was recovered from the holster, and from an empty cash register located behind the counter.

A press release from the US Attorney's office is below. Plea documents have been added to this post.

District Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder While Armed In Slaying of Northeast Washington Deli Owner-DNA Linked the Defendant to the Crime Scene-

WASHINGTON – Steven Williams, 46, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a charge of second-degree murder while armed in the June 2012 slaying of the owner of a Northeast Washington delicatessen, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Williams pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Robert E. Morin scheduled sentencing for June 17, 2013. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison. Under the plea agreement, the government will ask for no more than 28 years of incarceration, and the defendant will seek no less than 20 years in prison.

According to the government’s evidence, the victim, Hae Soon Lim, 64, was found by police on June 14, 2012, at about 6:15 a.m., on the floor of her delicatessen, Grace’s Deli, in the 700 block of H Street NE. Her vehicle was found parked directly outside. An autopsy determined that Ms. Lim died from a single gunshot wound that entered through the back of her neck.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has a crime surveillance camera located a block away from the delicatessen at 8th and H Streets NE. A review of the video from the camera showed that a vehicle consistent with the appearance of the vehicle belonging to Ms. Lim pulled up and parked in front of the deli at about 5:25 a.m. on June 14, 2012. The video also shows a single person, believed to be the victim, leaving the vehicle and walking toward the restaurant.

The video then shows, moments later, a single person crossing H Street rapidly on foot, moving toward the front entrance of the restaurant, where that person then proceeds to interact in close proximity with the person believed to be Ms. Lim.

An empty, brown handgun holster was found on the floor directly next to Ms. Lim’s body. DNA from that holster revealed a match to the defendant. Williams’s DNA was also recovered from an empty cash register located inside the restaurant, behind the counter and out of reach from the customer area.

Williams was charged with the murder in November 2012 and remains in custody.

In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of those who investigated the case for the MPD. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael C. Liebman and Justin Dillon, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

Judge Finds Probable Cause in Case Against Steven Williams

Sam Pearson — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 02:04:34 -0500

Judge Robert Morin found probable cause to hold Steven Williams Monday.

Williams, 46, is accused of killing 65-year-old shopkeeper June Grace Lim June 14.

Officers arrested him August 23 on a parole violation, but later found DNA evidence linking him to Lim's murder. Williams' DNA matched with DNA found on the holster of the handgun allegedly used to kill Lim, and from the inside of Lim's cash register, according to court documents.

Officers found Lim lying on the floor behind the counter of Grace Deli, the business she owned at 701 H St. Northeast, around 6 a.m. June 14. An autopsy later found that she died of a single gunshot to the back of her neck.

Morin has not yet set a trial date for Williams. He is scheduled to return to court April 12 at 10 a.m. for a felony status conference.

Judge Finds Substantial Probability that Steven Williams Murdered Hae Soon Lim

Penny Ray — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 18:28:03 -0500

Steven Williams stood in front of Judge Karen Howze this afternoon as she found “substantial probability” that Williams murdered June Grace Lim this past June.

Williams, who is currently serving a sentence for a parole violation, was ordered held after Howze found Williams a “danger to the community.”

According to charging documents, Lim was found lying on the floor behind the counter of Grace Deli, which she owned, shortly after 6 a.m. on June 14. An autopsy later found that the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the back of her neck. An empty handgun holster laid inches from her body, according to government documents.

During examination of the crime scene, police recovered DNA from both the holster and the cash drawer from the register. A DNA profile later identified Williams as having handled the holster.

On August 23, MPD arrested Williams for violating parole, and Williams was transported to the Homicide Branch, where he was advised of his rights, according to the documents. Detectives informed Williams of their intent to search his residence, and asked him for a cheek swab.

Meanwhile, the case jacket for Lim's murder laid in plain view within an arm's reach of Williams, the documents state. The face of the jacket included Lim's name and the date and location of her murder.

Williams stared directly at the case jacket for approximately 20 seconds; he then denied the cheek swab, according to the documents.

Williams was then left alone in the interview room where he was observed saying to himself, “That's a wrap, big boy. That's a wrap, big boy. Yeah, okay. That's 30 year...” according to the documents. The last part of Williams sentence trailed off.

Police later obtained a search warrant for Williams' DNA, and it was confirmed a match to both the cash register drawer and the gun holster.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 17.

MPD Arrests Three in Unrelated Homicides

Penny Ray — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:10:23 -0500

Metropolitan Police announced the arrests of three suspects in unrelated homicides today.

Steven Vondell Williams, 46, was arrested in connection with the shooting death of June Grace Lim.
Dennis Washington, 42, was arrested in connection with the death of Thomas Glenn Lipscomb.
David Tyrone Robinson, 20, is suspected of shooting and killing Howard Ricardo Sampler, though he has not yet been presented with a murder charge.

Lim was found dead inside the Grace Deli, which she owned, in June. Police believe robbery was the motive behind her death. Williams was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder while armed.

Lipscomb was found unconscious in a residence in the 3400 block of Minnesota Ave. N.E. in April 2011. He was later pronounced dead as a result of blunt force trauma. Washington is charged with second-degree murder, according to police.

Police found Sampler in the 1500 block of 45th Street N.E. suffering from multiple gunshot wounds this past January. He was transported to a hospital where he later died.

A police press release says Robinson is charged with second-degree murder while armed. Bill Miller, spokesman for the US Attorney's Office, said Robinson is being held on a weapons charge while the homicide investigation continues. A copy of that charge is below:

MPD is holding a press conference at 5:20 p.m. today to speak on these arrests.

The MPD press release is below:

Arrests Made in Three Unrelated Homicides

(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced that arrests have been made in the three unrelated homicides.

Arrest in the Homicide of Hae Soon Lim in 700 Block of H Street, NE

On Thursday, June 14, 2012, at approximately 6:15 am, a First District officer was flagged down by a citizen who notified him of an unconscious person in the 700 block of H Street, NE. The officer located an adult female, inside a business establishment, suffering from what was later determined to be a gunshot wound. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded and did not find any signs consistent with life. The victim was pronounced dead by a member of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The decedent has been identified as 64-year-old Hae Soon Lim of Rockville, MD.

On Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 46-year-old Steven Vondell Williams of Northwest, Washington, DC, was arrested and charged with Murder Two while Armed in the shooting death of Hae Soon Lim.

Arrest Made in the Homicide of Howard Ricardo Sampler in the 1500 block of 45th Street, NE

On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, at approximately 5:55 pm units from the Sixth District responded to a call for a shooting in the 1500 block of 45th Street, Northeast. Upon arrival, they located the victim, an adult male, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene and transported the victim to a local hospital. The victim later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

The decedent is identified as 21-year-old Howard Ricardo Sampler of Southeast, Washington DC.

On Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 20 year-old David Tyrone Robinson of Northeast, DC, was arrested and charged with Murder Two while Armed for the homicide of Howard Ricardo Sampler.

Arrest Made in the Homicide of Thomas Glenn Lipscomb in the 3400 block of Minnesota Avenue, SE

On Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at approximately 12:00 pm, units from the Sixth District responded to a residence in the 3400 block of Minnesota Avenue, SE. Upon their arrival they discovered an adult male unconscious and unresponsive. A member of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner pronounced the victim dead.

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, an autopsy was conducted by a member of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia who ruled the death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma.

The decedent has been identified as 49 year-old Thomas Glenn Lipscomb of Southeast, Washington, DC.

On Wednesday, November 28, 2012, detectives from the Homicide Branch arrested 42 year-old Dennis Washington of Southeast, Washington, DC, charging him with Second Degree Murder in the homicide of Thomas Glenn Lipscomb.