Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced today the closure of four homicide cases, including two decade-old cold cases.
On Friday, May 15, 2009, Third District patrol units discovered the body of 20-year-old Marcus Robinson in the 3000 block of 14th Street, NW. Robinson had been shot multiple times. On June 24, 2009, 38-year-old Robert Brock of Beltsville, Maryland, was charged with First Degree Premeditated Murder While Armed.
On Monday, June 22, 2009, members of the Third District responded to the 600 block of Quebec Place, NW for a 35-year-old shot in the leg. Further investigation revealed that nearly two blocks away at the intersection of Park Place and Otis Street, NW was an overturned vehicle with a male victim inside. Twenty-eight-year-old Ryan Trotman was found in the vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. An anonymous tip about the getaway vehicle used in the shooting led detectives to 18-year-old Troy Thomas of Northwest, DC. Thomas was arrested June 24, 2009 and charged with First Degree Premeditated Murder in connection with the death of Trotman.
On August 4, 1999, 35-year-old Yolanda Baker of the 400 block of 44th Street, NE was reported missing. At the time, she was living with the father of her twin children, 34-year-old Terrence Barnett. The couple had a history of domestic violence. The case was investigated for a year, but Ms. Baker’s remains were never found.
In February of this year, Ms. Baker was declared legally deceased. At the same time, Homicide Branch Cold Case detectives and the United States Attorneys Office began re-investigating the case. After additional forensic testing and numerous interviews the Homicide Branch obtained an arrest warrant, and subsequently the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested the now 44-year-old Barnett on June 23, 2009. Barnett had been residing in Capitol Heights, Maryland, and is charged with Second Degree Murder.
This is the second “no body” case now being prosecuted by the United States Attorneys Office in the past year.
On June 24, 2009, 45-year-old Lawrence Davis was arrested and charged with First Degree Premeditated Murder While Armed in the homicide of 32-year-old Elizabeth Singleton in March of 1999. Ms. Singleton was found in her home in the 1700 block of A Street, SE with multiple stab wounds. Davis was her estranged husband and was the primary focus of the investigation, but was never charged. Detectives took a fresh look at the case in 2008, and submitted evidence of DNA analysis leading to his arrest.
"I want to commend Chief Lanier and the officers of MPD for their excellent work in solving these homicide cases," Mayor Fenty said. "Public safety has been and continues to be a top priority of my Administration, and I'm proud of the work we are doing to bring criminal offenders to justice."
“The quick arrests and recent closure of the Baker and Singleton homicides are just more examples of the tireless work done by our detectives. No case is too difficult to bring a family closure and no case is considered too cold to solve,” said Chief Lanier.
The MPD currently has a 72% closure rate on all homicide cases. The national average of comparably sized cities on homicide closures is 54%.
Chief Lanier commends the fine work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Homicide Branch: Detectives Robert Cephas and Eric Fenton for the closure of the Robinson homicide; Detectives Jed Worrell and Jacqueline Middleton for the Trotman homicide; Detectives Anthony Brigidini and Kenneth “Todd” Williams of the MPD Cold Case Unit and Assistant United States Attorney Amanda Haines for their dedication in bringing the Baker case to closure; and Detective Jeffrey Williams of the of the MPD Cold Case Unit for the closure of the Singleton case.