Tyrron Lamont Sweeney | Homicide Watch DC

Judge: "Web of Circumstantial Evidence" is enough to hold Tyrron Sweeney

Amelia Rufer — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 17:34:11 -0500

A judge found probable cause in the case against Tyrron Sweeney for the murders of Ervin Ingraham and Ronnetta Hurley-Brown Friday.

A caretaker discovered the bodies of Ingraham and Hurley-Brown in their apartment in the 1600 block of 17th Street, Southeast on January 30. Their 1-year-old and 2-year-old children were also in the apartment, safe and unharmed. Police estimate time of death more than 12 hours earlier, according to charging documents.

"There is a lot of information provided by a lot of witnesses, but none of it is enough," argued Dana Page, Sweeney's defense attorney.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Magdalena Avecedo, the crime scene's location made that inevitable.

"Any time a murder is committed in an apartment, we do have to rely on circumstantial evidence," AUSA Avecedo said.

Police recovered Ingraham's car in a parking lot in the 1800 block of U Street, Southeast on February 1, documents state. Inside were a pair of latex gloves, one of which tested positive for Sweeney's DNA.

When police arrived at the victims' residence, a strong odor of bleach was present and the sinks were left running, charging documents say.

"The apartment was cleaned," Avecedo said. "That's why [the gloves] were found inside out. He had just taken them off."

Approximately one month before the murder, the caretaker walked in to find Sweeney and Ingraham at the dining room table. Both men wore blue gloves, and Sweeney was stirring something in a bowl, documents say.

Page, the defense attorney, argued that a witness account of Sweeney wearing rubber gloves is not sufficient evidence to implicate him in the car theft or the murder of his best friend. The glove evidence is merely circumstantial, Page argued.

"There's no question that Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Ingraham were friends and stir what they stir together," Page said.

Judge John Ramsey Johnson ruled that the circumstantial nature of the evidence did not preclude him from finding probable cause.

"This web of circumstantial evidence more than supports probable cause that Mr. Sweeney committed the murder of two victims," Judge Johnson told the court. "Nothing standing alone would compel that finding: it's all of it together."

Sweeney is scheduled for a felony status conference before Judge Johnson on February 20 at 10:00 a.m.

Probable Cause Found in Brutal Double Homicide

Amelia Rufer — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 19:27:52 -0500

Ervin Ingraham and Ronnetta Hurley-Brown were already dead when police found them shortly before 4:00 p.m. on January 30, according to court documents.

Inches from the front door, Ingraham lay face down on the living room floor. In the kitchen, Hurley-Brown was found lying on her back, nude from the waist down. They each sustained a single bullet to the back of the head.

The victims' 1- and the 2-year-old children, who documents say were unharmed, were alone in the apartment for over 14 hours after their parents were shot execution-style.

On Saturday, A judge found probable cause to hold 22-year-old Tyrron Sweeney for the double homicide of Ingraham and Hurley-Brown.

On the afternoon on January 30, Hurley-Brown's caretaker and a neighbor tried to enter the apartment, which they discovered was unlocked. A police report states that the two individuals immediately retrieved the children and called police.

According to charging documents, the caretaker said that neither Hurley-Brown nor Ingraham were answering their cell phones. When she called Ingraham's phone at 12:02 p.m., "the baby answered the phone," she told police. Concerned, she went to their apartment located in the 1600 block of 17th Street Southeast.

When police arrived at the scene, the bathroom and kitchen sinks were running and the floors were covered with water. Documents say that police noticed a strong odor of bleach in the apartment. Additionally, police found a potato with a hole in it, which they believe was used to silence the gunshots, documents say. A .38 caliber projectile was found on the floor near the potato.

According to charging documents, the caretaker was the last person to see Ingraham and Hurley-Brown alive when she left their apartment at 8:00 p.m. on January 29. The caretaker told police a friend of Ingraham's was in the apartment when she left.

When asked to identify the friend in a photo array, the caretaker pointed to a picture of Sweeney. She told police that about a month ago, she entered the apartment without knocking and saw Ingraham and the same friend wearing blue gloves and mixing something in a bowl, documents say.

A second witness identified a photo of Sweeney as the man it saw leaving the victims' apartment at 10:00 p.m. the night before Ingraham and Hurley-Brown were found dead.

According to charging documents, Sweeney told police that he had last seen Ingraham, who he said was his best friend, on January 27 or January 28. Documents say that video footage pulled from Sweeney's girlfriend's residence doesn't show Sweeney arriving until 12:15 a.m. on January 30, more than two hours after the couple claimed they were together.

Sweeney is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Judge John Ramsey Johnson on November 21.

Arrest in January Double Homicide

Chris Amico — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 09:24:22 -0500

Tyrron Lamont Sweeney, 22, was arrested Friday for the shooting deaths of Ervin Phillip Ingraham and Ronnetta Hurley-Brown in January.

Ingraham and Hurley-Brown, both 21, were found shot to death in a rowhouse in the 1600 block of 17th Street Southeast. At a press conference shortly after, MPD Captain Anthony Haythe said the two were probably "targeted."

Sweeney was presented with two charges of first-degree murder while armed on Saturday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 21.

MPD's full press release is below:

Arrest Made in Double Homicide: 1600 block of 17th Street, SE
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch announced an arrest has been made in the double homicide of 21-year-old Ervin Phillip Ingraham and 21-year-old Ronnetta Hurley-Brown, which occurred on Thursday, January 30, 2014 in the 1600 block of 17th Street, Southeast.

On Friday, November 7, 2014, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 22-year-old Tyrron Lamont Sweeney, of Southeast, DC, pursuant to two DC Superior Court arrest warrants charging him with two counts of Murder One while Armed in the shooting deaths of Ervin Ingraham and Ronnetta Hurley-Brown.