Marcellus Terrell Bailey | Homicide Watch DC

Davon Holmes Sentenced to 24 Years in Murder of Marcellus Bailey

Ivan Natividad — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 15:00:37 -0400

Judge Ronna Beck sentenced Davon Holmes Friday to 24 years in prison for the 2011 stabbing death of 24-year-old Marcellus Terrell Bailey.

"There really is no sentence I can impose to really address your loss," Judge Beck said to Bailey's family Friday. "But due to the vicious nature of this crime I am imposing a sentence at the high end of the guidelines."

Police found Bailey August 3, 2011 at approximately 2:45 a.m. on the 5300 block of 8th Street Northwest suffering from a laceration to his neck. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Over a month later Holmes, 30, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed.

Holmes was found guilty in July of second-degree murder while armed in connection with Bailey's death.

Charging documents state that the morning of the murder a witness said Holmes and Bailey were "talking and laughing" together when Holmes suddenly swung out, hitting Bailey in the neck.

During trial one witness said that Holmes "sliced" Bailey, causing him to bleed profusely from his neck. Holmes fled the scene on foot before entering a van that drove him away from the crime scene, the witness said. An autopsy found that Bailey died from a seven inch stab wound to the neck.

"I am remorseful for the life that was taken," Holmes said Friday.

Holmes' defense attorney, Jenifer Wicks, argued Friday that Holmes has accepted what he has done, but prosecutors said that Holmes killed Bailey in a barbaric manner, and caused a profound loss to his family.

At sentencing Bailey's mother, Sharon Rollins, played a song for the court that Bailey produced and rapped in. She also brought pictures of her son to show Judge Beck, calling them memories of things Bailey loved to do.

"Both of my sons are gone," Rollins said with tears flowing down her face. "I'll never have any grandkids to see me in my old age."

A press release is below

A previous version of this story misstated that "Marcellus Bailey" fled the scene of the crime in a van. It was Davon Holmes, the defendant.

United States Attorney’s Office
District of Columbia
U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.

District Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison
For 2011 Slaying in Northwest Washington
-Defendant Stabbed Victim in the Neck-

WASHINGTON –Devon Holmes, 30, also known as “Jamaica,” of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for the August 2011 slaying of a man in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Holmes was found guilty by a jury in July 2013 of a charge of second-degree murder while armed, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna L. Beck. Upon completion of his prison term, Holmes will be placed on five years of supervised release.

According to the evidence at trial, at about 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2011, in the area of 8th and Jefferson Streets NW, Holmes slashed the victim, Marcellus T. Bailey, 24, in the neck with a sharp object, causing a gaping wound and loss of blood. Holmes fled the scene. Mr. Bailey died a short while later. The motive for the attack is unknown. Holmes was arrested on Sept. 9, 2011, and has been in custody ever since.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including detectives, mobile crime technicians, and others. He also expressed appreciation for the work of Special Agent Kevin R. Horan of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST). In addition, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Fern Rhedrick and Mia Beamon; Litigation Support Services Specialists Jeanie Latimore-Brown, Kimberly Smith, Claudia Gutierrez, Joshua Ellen, and Joseph Calvarese; Victim/Witness Advocates Marcia Rinker and Tamara Ince; Victim/Witness Services Supervisor David Foster; Witness Security Specialists M. Laverne Forrest and Michael Hailey; Criminal Investigators Mark Crawford and Christopher Brophy, and Intelligence Research Specialists Zachary McMenamin, Sharon Johnson, and Shannon Alexis.

Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Feitel and Kathryn L. Rakoczy, who prosecuted the case at trial.

Witness in Holmes Trial Dead, Lanier Says Cases "Unrelated"

Penny Ray — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:52:27 -0400

Rayshawn Hailstock, the 21-year-old who died after a fight in Southeast D.C. Sunday, testified in the Davon Holmes murder trial three days prior to his death. Metropolitan police are conducting a death investigation in the case and have not declared Hailstock's death a homicide.

Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said in an email Wednesday afternoon that the Holmes trial and Hailstock's death are not related.

Holmes was convicted around noon Wednesday of second-degree murder while armed in connection with the death of 24-year-old Marcellus Bailey.

Hailstock testified last week that he was one of the last people to see Bailey alive.

Hailstock said that on the morning of August 3, 2011, Bailey and Holmes were arguing on the corner of 8th and Jefferson Street Northwest and at some point Holmes made a “slapping motion” at Bailey. Hailstock testified that he didn't see a weapon in Holmes' hand, but Holmes immediately ran off and jumped in the rear passenger seat of a nearby vehicle. The car then “screeched out of the neighborhood,” Hailstock said.

After the vehicle sped off, Bailey paced up and down the sidewalk a few times, while holding the side of his neck and bleeding profusely. Hailstock said that Bailey pulled his cell phone out his pocket and placed it near his ear, then placed it back in his pocket and asked Hailstock for a cigarette. Hailstock didn't have one, so the two walked to Bailey's truck.

Bailey found a cigarette and then sat in his truck for about five minutes holding his neck, which was “squirting and oozing blood.” And Hailstock lit Bailey's cigarette because he couldn't do it himself. Bailey took “three pulls,” Hailstock said.

Bailey later died at Washington Hospital Center. Holmes was convicted Wednesday of second-degree murder while armed; he is scheduled to be sentenced August 30.

Hailstock was found dead in the 2300 Block of Alabama Avenue SE around 8:30 p.m. Sunday. An MPD press release says that Hailstock died following a fight that evening, but it does not make clear the manner and cause of Hailstock's death. Beverly Fields, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in DC, said Wednesday that Hailstock's case is “pending.”

This story has been updated to reflect the comments from Chief Cathy Lanier.

A press release from the US Attorney's Office has been added to this post below.

District Man Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder While Armed
In 2011 Slaying in Northwest Washington
-Defendant Stabbed Victim in the Neck-

WASHINGTON –Devon Holmes, 30, also known as “Jamaica,” of Washington D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of second-degree murder while armed for the August 2011 slaying of a man in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for Aug. 30, 2013. Holmes faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison

According to the evidence at trial, at about 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2011, in the area of 8th and Jefferson Streets NW, Holmes slashed the victim, Marcellus T. Bailey, 24, in the neck with a sharp object, causing a gaping wound and loss of blood. Holmes fled the scene. Mr. Bailey died a short while later. The motive for the attack is unknown. Holmes was arrested on Sept. 9, 2011, and has been in custody ever since.

In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including detectives, mobile crime technicians, and others. He also expressed appreciation for the work of Special Agent Kevin R. Horan of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST). In addition, he acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Fern Rhedrick and Mia Beamon; Litigation Support Services Specialists Jeanie Latimore-Brown, Kimberly Smith, Claudia Gutierrez, Joshua Ellen, and Joseph Calvarese; Victim/Witness Advocates Marcia Rinker and Tamara Ince; Victim/Witness Services Supervisor David Foster; Witness Security Specialists M. Laverne Forrest and Michael Hailey; Criminal Investigators Mark Crawford and Christopher Brophy, and Intelligence Research Specialists Zachary McMenamin, Sharon Johnson, and Shannon Alexis.

Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Feitel and Kathryn L. Rakoczy, who prosecuted the case at trial.

Jury Deliberations Begin in Davon Holmes Murder Trial

Ivan Natividad — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 21:03:46 -0400

Prosecutors in the murder trial against Davon Holmes say that it's not a case of "who done it. It's a case of he did it." But James Beane, Holmes' defense attorney, argued that the government's key witnesses had lied, and that the government's theory is a "case of maybes and what ifs."

Holmes is charged with the stabbing death of 24-year-old Marcellus Bailey. After closing arguments Tuesday, jurors in the case began weighing the evidence presented in four days of testimony.

Bailey was stabbed near the corner of 8th Street and Jefferson Street Northwest on August 3, 2011. He was discovered by police around 2:45 a.m., injured and bleeding profusely from his neck; he later died at Washington Hospital Center.

A government witness, whose testimony was previously recorded and played during trial, said of Bailey's death, "[Holmes] sliced him."

"I don't know why," he added.

The witness said he saw Holmes and Bailey on the morning of the murder "with a lot of other people" on the corner of 8th and Jefferson. A conversation between the two led to a shoving match, he said. Then Holmes sliced Bailey's neck.

After Bailey was cut, he paced up and down the sidewalk, then walked toward his car while bleeding profusely. The witness fled, he testified.

"I didn't want anything to do with what happened that night," he said. "There was a lot of blood. A lot."

In addition to the witness's testimony, prosecutors say Sprint cellular phone records place Holmes near the crime scene at the time of the murder.

Beane asked jurors to not let their verdict rest on this evidence. The accounts of government witnesses in the case were unreliable, Beane said.

And as for the phone records?

"That same area encompasses his mother's house and his sister's house," Beane said. "Does this place him in the area of 8th Street and Jefferson Street? Yes. Does it put him precisely on that exact corner? No."

Jury deliberations will resume Wednesday morning.

"Their case is built with weak bricks," Defense Attorney Says of Government's Murder Case Against Davon Holmes

Ivan Natividad — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 18:52:58 -0400

Although prosecutors in the murder trial against Davon Holmes have found no motive or explanation as to why Marcellus Terrell Bailey was killed, they expect witnesses to testify at trial that they saw Holmes stab Bailey in the neck in August 2011. But Holmes' defense attorney, James Beane, argued Tuesday that the government's version of events is built on "a house of maybes."

Jurors heard these opening statements Tuesday morning in the murder trial against Holmes, 28, who is charged with the stabbing death of 24-year-old Marcellus Bailey.

According to prosecutors, in the early morning hours of August 3, 2011, a witness saw Holmes and Bailey "talking and laughing" together on the corner of 8th and Jefferson Street Northwest, when Holmes suddenly swung at Bailey, stabbing him in the neck.

Bailey bled profusely. He was found injured by police around 2:45 a.m. He later died at the hospital.

"Crime scene photographs corroborate what the witnesses saw," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Rakoczy told the court. "Witnesses were out there that night, and they saw [Davon Holmes] stab Marcellus in his neck, causing his death."

Prosecutors say that cell phone records place Holmes at the scene of the crime; and a witness who called 911 shortly after the stabbing testified Tuesday that she saw Holmes "around the neighborhood" just before Bailey was stabbed.

But James Beane, Holmes' defense attorney, argued that the government had no proof as to what truly occurred that Wednesday morning.

"They have to prove that what they believe happened," Beane said. "Bring me some DNA. Bring me the fingerprints. They can't."

"Their case is built with weak bricks," he said.

The trial is scheduled to resume Wednesday in Judge Ronna Beck's courtroom.

Correction: A previous version of this story reported there was a party on the corner of 8th and Jefferson the morning Bailey was killed. That has been corrected.

"Not Guilty" Plea in NW DC Stabbing Case

Laura Amico — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:22:45 -0400

Davon Holmes pled innocent today to fatally stabbing Marcellus Bailey in August 2011. Holmes, 29, is charged with one count of premeditated first-degree murder while armed.

Bailey, 24, died after being cut in the neck. At a preliminary hearing, MPD Detective Paul Regan said that Bailey was unarmed when he was killed. In his testimony before Judge Thomas Motley, Regan did not give any indication of motive in the case. Regan said two witnesses each described Bailey and Holmes together that night before Holmes struck out in an apparent slap at Bailey’s neck. Neither witness saw anything in Holmes’ hand.

Holmes has been offered a plea deal for second-degree murder. There is no mandatory sentencing minimum for second-degree murder; the minimum of first-degree murder is 30 years in prison.

The indictment will be added to this post later this afternoon.

Davon Holmes Held in Death of Marcellus Bailey

Laura Amico — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:47:43 -0400

Davon Holmes was ordered held this morning on probable cause that he fatally stabbed Marcellus Bailey in August.

Bailey, 24, died after being cut in the neck. MPD Detective Paul Regan said Wednesday that Bailey was unarmed when he was killed.

In his testimony before Judge Thomas Motley, Regan did not give any indication of motive in the case. Regan said two witnesses each described Bailey and Holmes together that night before Holmes struck out in an apparent slap at Bailey's neck. Neither witness saw anything in Holmes' hand.

In final arguments, the government alleged that the weapon could have been a box cutter. The government also stated that while Holmes is currently suspected of second-degree murder while armed in the case, they anticipate indicting him on a charge of first-degree murder, which carries a minimum of thirty years imprisonment.

Holmes, 28, was employed with Einstein Brothers Bagels until July when the location that he worked at closed, said his attorney, Elita Amato. He recently completed trade school and obtained his certification in electrical systems, but has not found work. His prior convictions include drug and weapons possession offenses, but his record does not show any contact with D.C. Courts since 2004.

A status hearing is set for Dec. 16.

Charging documents describe victim, suspect "talking and laughing" together before fatal stabbing

Laura Amico — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:26:49 -0400

The morning Marcellus Bailey was killed, a witness says, Bailey and Davon Holmes were "talking and laughing" together.

Then suddenly Holmes swung out, hitting Bailey in the neck. Says another witness, it became apparent that Bailey had been stabbed when he started bleeding profusely.

That's according to charging documents presented to Holmes in court Saturday, when he was presented with a charge of second-degree murder in connection with Bailey's death.

MPD officers responding to a call for an aggravated assault on Aug. 3 found Bailey with an apparent slash or stab wound to his neck. He was taken to Washington Hospital Center where he died that same day.

A preliminary hearing has been set for the case for Sept. 21.

Charging documents are below.

Arrest in Stabbing Death of Marcellus Terrell Bailey

Laura Amico — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:16:43 -0400

MPD reports an arrest in the death of 24-year-old Marcellus Terrell Bailey, who died of a stabbing on Aug. 3.

Davon Holmes, a 28-year-old of Northwest DC, was arrested today on suspicion of second-degree murder while armed. A press release from MPD is below.

Arrest Made in the Homicide of Marcellus Bailey

( Washington , DC )-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced that an arrest has been made in the fatal stabbing of Marcellus Bailey.

On Wednesday, August 3, 2011, at approximately 2:45 am, units from the Fourth District responded to the 5300 block of 8th Street, NW to investigate the report of a stabbing. Upon their arrival, they observed a male suffering from a laceration to his body. 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 was identified as 24 year-old Marcellus Terrell Bailey of Northwest, DC.

On Friday, September 9, 2011, at approximately 6:40 am, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested and charged 28-year-old Davon Holmes of Northwest, DC, with Murder Two While Armed pursuant to an arrest warrant.

Stabbing Victim ID'ed as Marcellus Terrell Bailey

Laura Amico — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:36:13 -0400

MPD this afternoon identified the victim of a fatal stabbing in Northwest DC early Wednesday morning as 24 year-old Marcellus Terrell Bailey.

A press release is below.

August 3, 2011

Homicide: 5300 block of 8th Street, NW

(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating the fatal stabbing which occurred in the 5300 block of 8th Street, NW.

On Wednesday, August 3, 2011, at approximately 2:45 am, units from the Fourth District responded to the 5300 block of 8th Street, NW to investigate the report of a stabbing. Upon their arrival, they observed a male suffering from a laceration to his body. 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 24 year-old Marcellus Terrell Bailey of Northwest, DC

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIME (1-888-919-2746).

The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons wanted for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia.

Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to DC CRIME SOLVERS at 1-800-673-2777 and to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411. If the information provided by the caller to the Crime Solvers Unit leads to an arrest and indictment, that caller will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Stabbing Kills Man in District's First Homicide Since July 20

Laura Amico — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:59:40 -0400

A man died after being stabbed early this morning in Northwest DC, MPD reports on the Fourth District listserve.

It is the District's first homicide since July 20, when Myles LaShay McLean was killed in a Northeast DC shooting.

From MPD:

Just before 3 am, units received a call for a stabbing at the 5300 blk of 8th St. NW. Upon arrival, an adult male was located suffering from an apparent stab wound and was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced. This case is under investigation by the Homicide Branch. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-888-919-CRIM(E).