Lugus Fleming | Homicide Watch DC

Terrell Brent Receives Three Years in Russian Roulette Case

Lindsey Anderson — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:45:04 -0400

Twenty-year-old Terrell Brent stood silently as Judge William Jackson sentenced him to three years in prison, the minimum for involuntary manslaughter, in the death of his best friend Lugus Fleming.

Brent stood in his dark blue prison uniform, facing only Judge William Jackson and looking at the ground throughout the sentencing, never once glancing at Fleming's family as they spoke to the judge of their son and brother.

Brent turned to the family only once, to give a brief statement. He recounted the time he spent with Fleming's family and said he still hopes to be a good godfather to Fleming's son. His defense attorney said Brent has sought therapy since the shooting.

"I can't ever stop thinking about it. I think about it more and more every day, Why us?" Brent said, reading from a lined sheet of paper. "I loved Lug and looked up to him. You all know I'm not a bad person and that I'd never harm anybody. Please, just give me a chance."

Brent pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in February after fatally shooting Fleming in a game of Russian Roulette.

"[We have] one person who's life was taken, another person who's life is ruined, a family who is grieving, a defendant who is grieving," Judge Jackson said. "I'm not sure -- I can understand why members of the family ask for a long lengthy sentence ... that's a measure of how they feel about the loss, but as a judge ... I'm asking myself what's the added value of having a young man like this in prison?"

Fleming's father, two sisters and the mother of his baby son all spoke, asking for the maximum sentence of seven years.

"Initially, I understood that it was partly an accident, that it was likely an accident. But I don't condone that a gun can be willfully pointed at someone and a trigger pulled," Fleming's father told the court.

One of Fleming's sisters, who is 17 years older than him, said her two children are devastated by the death of their uncle.

"My 6-year-old doesn't understand why his favorite person in the world, his uncle, isn't coming back," she said, adding that her son hated when she and her husband left the house. "He would scream and holler and cry because he thought we weren't coming back like Uncle Lugus."

Brent was sentenced under the Youth Rehabilitation Act, meaning the conviction could possibly be cleared from Brent's record if certain conditions are met.

Involuntary Manslaughter Plea in Russian Roulette Murder Case

Laura Amico — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:09:44 -0500

A 20-year-old DC man accused of fatally shooting a close friend in a game of Russian Roulette has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the case.

Terrell Brent entered the plea last week. The maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter is 30 years in prison, but prison time is not mandatory for the charge. Brent could be sentenced under the Youth Act.

According to Brent's proffer in the case, Lugus Fleming suggested to Brent that they play a game of Russian Roulette. Fleming appeared to empty the gun, then aimed it at a wall and fired. No bullet was shot. Fleming handed the gun to Brent, Brent pointed it at Fleming and fired. This time a bullet shot from the gun. It struck Fleming in the face, killing him.

At a preliminary hearing, Defense Attorney James Whitehead, argued that the initial charge-- voluntary manslaughter-- be reduced to involuntary manslaughter. He said that because the young men believed the gun to be empty, firing it did not add up to a “conscious disregard” for safety, which is a prerequisite for voluntary manslaughter.

“No one was aware of a risk from shooting what they thought was an empty gun,” Whitehead said, adding that Brent and Fleming may have believed that the game of Russian Roulette was played with an empty gun.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 20.

Plea documents are below.

Jubilation-- and Anger-- as Judge Releases Man Accused of Killing Friend in Game of Russian Roullette

Laura Amico — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:20:14 -0400

There was silent applause, fist pumping and smiles in court Wednesday when Judge Anthony Epstein ordered Terrell Brent released from custody.

But there were also tears. And anger.

"My brother's f---ing dead," yelled one woman as she fled the courtroom. "And [Brent] is going f---ing home. This court's a joke."

Outside the courtroom, shouts of celebration and anger drowned out Judge Epstein's final statements on the conditions of Brent's release.

Of the crime that, until today, had kept Brent behind bars on suspicion of murder and manslaughter, Epstein said it was "a tragic, tragic accident."

"There were a series of actions that resulted in the tragic death of a young man," Epstein said, in announcing his finding of probable cause on a voluntary manslaughter charge in the case.

According to MPD Detective Dwayne Partman, who testified at the preliminary hearing Wednesday, the night of Sept. 16, Lugus Fleming appeared to empty bullets out of a revolver, then invited Brent to play Russian Roullette. Fleming fired the gun and nothing happened. He handed it to Brent with the barrel pointing at Fleming. Brent fired the gun and nothing happened. He fired it again, expelling a bullet, which struck Fleming in the face, killing him.

Partman said the two young men, both 20 years old, were "like brothers" and both lived with Brent's mother and siblings.

Brent, and two others who were in Brent's bedroom at the time of the shooting, all told authorities that they thought the gun was unloaded and empty. When the gun went off it made a "POW," and Brent "was standing there in shock with the gun," Partman said witnesses said.

Defense Attorney James Whitehead, arguing that the voluntary manslaughter charge be reduced to involuntary manslaughter, said that because the young men believed the gun to be empty, firing it does not add up to a "conscious disregard" for safety, which is a prerequisite for voluntary manslaughter.

"No one was aware of a risk from shooting what they thought was an empty gun," he said, adding that Brent and Fleming may have believed that the game of Russian Roullette was played with an empty gun.

Epstein, however, said that the general assumption is that in a game of Russian Roullette a bullet remains in the gun and that Brent, in choosing to play the game and handle the weapon, had to know that he was taking a chance that Fleming could be killed.

"It's a deliberate act," Epstein said. "Even if there's only one chance in six [of firing a bullet]."

Brent is expected back in court Dec. 12 for a felony status conference.

Deadly Russian Roulette was not Second Degree Murder, Judge Rules

Laura Amico — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:26:28 -0400

Judge Karen Howze this afternoon ruled that a fatal game of Russian Roulette, which killed twenty-year-old Lugus Fleming on Friday night, could not be a crime of second-degree murder because the teen who fired the fatal shot believed that the gun was empty.

More than thirty people filled the courtroom at D.C. Superior Court for Howze's ruling, which came at Terrell Rashad Brent's first court appearance.

According to charging documents in the case, Brent, 19, and Fleming were playing with a revolver handgun in Fleming's bedroom on Friday night. Fleming emptied ammunition from the gun, then pulled the trigger and the gun did not fire. Fleming then handed the gun to Brent, with the muzzle pointing back at himself. Brent pulled the trigger and the gun fired, striking Fleming in the neck.

Prosecutors filed a charge of second-degree murder against Brent in connection with the case. When Howze said that she could not find probable cause for the charge, AUSA Reagan Taylor orally changed it to voluntary manslaughter. Taylor said, however, that the government believes evidence for second-degree murder does exist.

In Russian Roulette commonly there is one bullet left in the gun, Taylor said, and if the young men were in fact playing Russian Roulette there would be reason to believe that Brent could have assumed that a bullet remained in the gun.

Brent's defense attorney, James Whitehead, said he thought the charge could be reduced below voluntary manslaughter. He said that because Brent believed the gun was empty, the most the government could possibly charge in the case was assault with a deadly weapon.

"It was the decedent's idea to play this game in the first place," Whitehead said.

Brent was ordered held pending a preliminary hearing, scheduled for Sept. 28.

Read charging documents in the case below.

Lugus Fleming Killed in Friday Night Shooting; Terrell Rashad Brent Arrested

Laura Amico — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:27:23 -0400

A shooting in Northeast D.C. Friday night killed 20-year-old Lugus Fleming of Northeast D.C., MPD said Saturday.

Terrell Rashad Brent, 19, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, MPD said.

MPD's release is after the jump.

Arrest Made in the Homicide in the 5400 Block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE

(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating the fatal shooting which occurred in the 5400 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE.

On Friday, September 16, 2011, at approximately 11:00 pm, Sixth District officers responded to the 5400 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE to investigate the report of a shooting. Upon arrival on the scene, officers located an adult male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene and transported the victim to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

The decedent has been identified as 20-year-old Lugus Fleming of Northeast, DC.

Homicide detectives arrested 19-year-old Terrell Rashad Brent of Northeast, DC and charged him with Murder Two while Armed.