Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr | 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)

Kwan Kearney to Serve 105 Years for Week of Deadly Shootings

Laura Amico — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:41:28 -0400

Biting his lip and appearing, for the first time over the course of his two murder trials, as young as his 21 years, Kwan Kearney was sentenced today to 45 years in prison for the shooting death of Jamal Wilson.

The sentence, Judge Thomas Motley said, was to be served in addition to the 60 year sentence Kearney was given just months ago for the shooting death of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.

"He'll die in jail," Kearney's attorney, Gene Johnson, warned the court, while Kearney chewed on his lower lip.

Kearney was found guilty in March of fatally shooting Jamal Demetrius Wilson in Nov. 2010. The charges included premeditated first-degree murder. Kearney pled innocent and Johnson argued that Kearney had no reason to kill Wilson; Kearney’s family testified at trial that the men were "best friends." Johnson argued that the government’s witnesses in the case were unreliable; at least two of them had plea agreements with the government in other cases and were awaiting sentencing when they testified against Kearney.

In December, Kearney was convicted of first-degree murder while armed in the shooting death of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. Sharps was fatally shot just six days before Wilson was killed and the same day Kearney was released from jail, prosecutors said.

He was sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison for that crime, a crime that he maintained, even at sentencing, that he didn't commit.

"My condolences to the family," Kearney said at his sentencing in February. "But you all got the wrong man. I ain't never killed a man in my life."

His words in court Friday were brief as well. Looking over his shoulder to address Wilson's mother he said, "I'd like to tell Miss Maxine I'm sorry about your loss."

"I don't know why someone thinks I killed my best friend," he said.

The two sentences added together equal 105 years in prison.

"The evidence of your guilt was overwhelming," Motley told Kearney. "That was you in the shootout there in the streets of the District of Columbia. It is a tragedy. Somebody has to think about the people who are killed. Each and every life has value. If you killed two people, you face two sentences."

Kearney's co-defendant in the Wilson case, Jeremy Risper, was also convicted of murder. His sentencing was postponed today because he requested a new attorney.

The Government's Sentencing Memorandum is below.

Jury Selected in "First and O" Case

Lindsey Anderson — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:21:59 -0400

Twelve jurors and two alternates were selected today to hear the case against Kwan Kearney and Jermey Risper, charged with killing Jamal Wilson.

Judge Thomas Motley is expected to hear opening arguments tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.

Prosecutors say the three men were members of the "First and ~~Oak~~ O" crew. An overview of the case can be found here.

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.

Comment of the Day: "This will not bring back Joseph."

Laura Amico — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:09:03 -0500

This comment of the day comes from Darren, who wrote in about Kwan Kearney's guilty verdict in the Joseph Sharps Jr. case.

This will not bring back Joseph. But at least the killer will not be able to harm anyone else. What a tragedy. I hope the Sharps family can heal.

"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.

Kwan Kearney Murder Case Could Go to the Jury as Early as Thursday

Lindsey Anderson — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:03:40 -0500

After just two days of testimony, the Kwan Kearney murder case could go to the jury as early as Thursday afternoon, the Judge hearing the case said today.

Kearney, 20, is charged with shooting two Spingarn High School students in Nov. 2010. One of the students, De'Onte Bilbro, survived. The other, Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr., was killed.

The government began presenting evidence in the case late Monday afternoon. On Wednesday Prosecutor David Saybolt said he expected to call just one more witness Thursday morning before resting his case.

At the end of Wednesday’s testimony, Kearney said he did not want to testify, although Judge Robert Richter told Kearney he could change his mind and urged him to make the choice for himself, not for his lawyer, his family or anyone else.

A Coolidge High School junior who was present at the shooting testified Wednesday, answering "I don't remember" to nearly all of the prosecution and defense's questions.

The youth, who was 15 years old in Nov. 2010, testified about the shooting during a grand jury hearing earlier this year. He has an immunity agreement with the DC Attorney General in exchange for his testimony but could have been charged with hiding a revolver, Saybolt said.

On Wednesday, the prosecution and defense attorneys read quotes from the boy's grand jury testimony, asking him if he had said those quotes and if they were true, to which he would answer, "yes."

In the grand jury testimony, the boy had said he did not remember seeing Kearney with a gun in his hand, only Larnell Allen.

Former D.C. Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Sarah Colbin testified Wednesday that a gunshot wound to the abdomen killed Sharps. The bullet punctured a main artery that led to significant blood loss and blood entering his abdominal cavity, Colbin said. Sharps was also shot in his left calf and a bullet grazed his right upper back, but the fatal shot was to his abdomen, she said.

Metropolitan Police Department forensic scientist Jennifer Zeffer said the DNA on the Colt .38-caliber gun that was found in the 15-year-old’s room excluded Kearney and Jeremy Risper, another suspect in the case. But that did not mean the two did not handle the gun, Zeffer said. Having duct tape on the gun’s handle or using gloves or a T-shirt to handle the gun could have prevented DNA from sticking, she said.

The trial is expected to resume Tuesday morning at 10:15 a.m., beginning with testimony from a firearm expert for the government.

Judge Richter said the case may be given to the jury tomorrow after defense attorney Gene Johnson presents his case.

"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.

Jury Selection Underway in Kwan Kearney Murder Case

Laura Amico — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:01:52 -0500

Jury selection is underway this afternoon in the first-degree murder case against Kwan Kearney, charged with the shooting death of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.

Sharps was 17 years old when he was shot and killed on Nov. 8, 2010 in Northeast D.C.

In court Monday, Kearney's defense attorney, Gene Johnson, said the defense was simple:

"Mr. Kearney didn't do it," he said.

The trial, originally assigned to Judge Thomas Motley, was assigned this morning to Judge Robert Richter when Judge Motley had another trial ready to move forward at the same time.

Did a Jailhouse Rumor Lead to Eric Kearney's Death?

Laura Amico — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:13:06 -0500

Kwan Kearney is awaiting trial in two separate murders in November 2010: Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr. on Nov. 8 and Jamal Demetrius Wilson on Nov. 14.

His brother, Eric Kearney, also known as Tay, was supposed to be a witness for the defense in one of those cases, but he was shot and killed on Oct. 17 near Truxton Circle.

Prosecutors believe Eric Kearney's death is tied to his brother's case. Not because he was a witness, but because he may have accused another man of being an informant.

"Tay is going around telling everybody I'm snitching on Kwan's case," a man identified as "Witness 5" told homicide investigators.

Prosecutors say Ray Allen Dicks killed Eric Kearney over that rumor.

"I handled that Tay situation," Dicks told Witness 5, while visiting DC Jail last month, another inmate told investigators.

Dicks was arrested Tuesday and presented with the first-degree murder charge Wednesday. He's due in court November 23--the day before Thanksgiving--for a preliminary hearing.

Charging documents in the case allege that Dicks shot at Eric Kearney because he had heard that Eric Kearney was saying that when that alleged "snitch" was released from jail and came home, that he shouldn't "come to the block."

According to charging documents, a witness to the shooting said the shooter was standing in the 1600 block of Lincoln Road NE when Eric Kearney rode past on his bike. The shooter fired a shot at Kearney's back, and Kearney jumped from the bike and ran with the shooter in pursuit. Three more shots were fired at Kearney's back, the witness said.

An autopsy, the report of which was included in the charging documents, concluded that Kearney had three gunshot wounds, two of which were to his chest. The wounds were fatal, the report concluded.

Read the charging documents below.

Delay in Joseph Alonzo Sharps Murder Prosecution after Kwan Kearney's Brother Killed

Laura Amico — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:31:42 -0400

A new trial date has been set for Kwan Kearney after his brother, a witness in his case, was killed.

Kearney was expected to stand trial on Oct. 31. He is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Joseph Alonzo Sharps Jr.

But just this week Kearney's brother, Eric Kearney, was killed in a shooting in Truxton Circle. Kearney's defense attorney said in a motion to the court that Eric Kearney was not only a "prime witness" in his brother's defense, but that the murder has "devastated" the Kearney family.

"[Kwan Kearney] is in an emotional state that places him in a posture where, it is my view, that he would not be mentally prepared for trial, presently," wrote defense attorney Gene Johnson. He added that the family family "is devastated emotionally and physically by this tragic event."

The U.S. Attorney's Office did not oppose the defense's motion to postpone the trial, which is now scheduled for Nov. 14.

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.