Double homicide- Jimmie Lee Simmons and Domonique Barber

From DC police and news reports: On Saturday, July 9, 2011, at approximately 5:52 am, members of the Third District responded to the sounds of gunshots in the 1400 block of Parkwood Place NW, Washington DC. Upon arrival on the scene, they found three adult male victims suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Personnel from DC Fire and EMS determined two of the victims had no signs compatible with life. Those two victims were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner where they were pronounced dead. The third victim was transported to a local hospital where he was admitted in grave condition. The decedents have been identified as Jimmie Lee Simmons III, 32, and Domonique Barber , 31, both of NW Washington, DC. A press report stated that a weapon was recovered from the victim who went to the hospital.
Motives for the slayings remain unclear, although there is a suggestion that there may have been gambling on the scene.

There were three memorials at the end of the block,; I assume for all three individuals who were shot.

Sad.

More information is on HomicideWatch.

Memorial for Lonnie Martin Whitted, 18th and U Place SE

On Thursday July 7, 2011, at approximately 12:15 am, units from the Sixth District responded to 18th Street and U Place SE, Washington DC, to investigate the sounds of gunshots. Upon arriving on the scene, officers located an adult male victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. DC Fire and EMS transported the victim, Lonnie Martin Whitted, 27, of SE Washington DC, to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

I was with writer John Muller at this site. We spoke with a woman, Deborah Akwie who started the memorial, and on whose property it abuts. She said the murder was a deep shock to the neighborhood, and that things have been somber since then. She also testified that she had learned that Mr. Whitted had been an accomplished and educated person, and had quite a large circle of caring friends and family who were deeply grieved at his sad and sudden end.

More information on HomicideWatch.

Peace peace peace...

RIP graffiti, Woodland Terrace SE

Graffiti on an electrical box, in the Woodland Terrace projects, off Ainger Place SE, Washington DC.

The gang in this neighborhood calls itself "The Lench Mob"

I have no further information about these RIP tags.

Official notice / RIP Kelvin Donnell Brown / Lincoln Rd NE

On Tuesday July 5, 2011, at approximately 12:35 am, DC Fire and EMS were notified that an adult male victim had been shot in the 1600 block of Lincoln Road NE, Washington DC. They located and transported the victim to a local hospital. Members from the Fifth District were then dispatched to respond to a local area hospital in regards to the shooting victim. Upon arriving on the scene, officers located an adult male victim being treated by medical personnel suffering from a gunshot wound. The adult male victim, Kelvin Donnell Brown, 22, of NW Washington DC, later succumbed to his injury and was pronounced dead.

More information on HomicideWatch.

For Jeffrey Yarnell Covington, 46th Place NE

From DC Police reports: On Saturday July 2, 2011, at approximately 1:30 am, units from the Sixth District responded to shooting in the 600 block of 46th Place SE, Washington DC. Officers located an adult male victim, identified as Jeffrey Yarnell Covington, 19, of Upper Marlboro, MD, suffering from a gunshot wound. DC Fire and EMS transported the victim to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injury and was pronounced dead.

I am not 100% sure this group of plush animals is intended as Mr. Covington's shrine, but the location is correct, and it looks & feels like a small memorial.

In any case, peace to his friends and family.

More information on HomicideWatch.

There was another shrine in this cul-de-sac recently, to Antoine Buckner.

Street Memorial for Mr. Robert Foster / Caribbean Festival tragedy

There was a shooting incident at the annual Caribbean Festival held on Georgia Avenue in DC.

From a DC Police report: On Saturday, June 25, 2011, at approximately 5:03 pm, units from the Third District responded to a call for the sounds of gunshots. Upon arrival, they located four victims, three in the 700 block of Gresham Place NW, Washington DC, and one in the 700 block of Columbia Road NW. All four victims were transported by DC Fire and EMS to local hospitals where one of the victims, Robert Foster Jr , 43, was pronounced dead.

Terry Jimenez, 20, was charged with second-degree murder while armed in connection with Fosters' death.

This shrine for Mr. Foster is on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Gresham Place NW, very near Howard University.

The incidents surrounding this act of very public tragedy and arrest are compiled at HomicideWatch.

Peace to Mr. Foster, to his family and circle of friends, and to all of us.

Memorial for Marcellus Darnaby on Delafield Place NW

From a DC Police report: On Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at approximately 1:04 am, units from the Fourth District were dispatched to the 300 block of Delafield Place NW, Washington DC, for the sounds of gunshots. Upon their arrival, they located an adult male victim inside an apartment suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. DC Fire and EMS transported the victim, Marcellus J. Darnaby, 32, to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was later pronounced dead.

Sad. Peace to his friends and family.

More information on Mr. Darnaby's case at HomicideWatch.

Isaiah Harris's shrine on New Jersey Ave NW

Isaiah Harris was an 8th grade student at Garnett-Patterson Middle School. He was murdered while walking with a friend very near his school.

From a DC Police report: On Monday, May 30, 2011, at approximately 10:15 pm, units from the Fifth District responded to the 1400 block of New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington DC, to investigate sounds of gunshots. Upon their arrival, they discovered a juvenile male victim suffering from a gunshot wound. They also located another victim nearby suffering from a gunshot wound. DC Fire and EMS transported both victims to a local area hospital. At 10:58 pm the first victim, Isaiah Harris, 15, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

On Wednesday, June 01, 2011, at approximately 9:30 pm, 26-year-old Eugene Antoine Kelly, 26, was arrested and charged with First Degree Murder while Armed.

There is considerably more material on the life and the sad end of young Mr. Harris at HomicideWatch.

Car & bottle shrine for Alphonzo "Fee" Epps / Ainger Place SE

This large and unusual shrine to Mr. Epps was constructed on a Cadillac in the courtyard where he lost his life.

From a DC Police report:
On Tuesday, May 3, 2011, at approximately 10:00 pm, units from the Seventh District responded to the 2300 block of Ainger Place SE, Washington DC, to investigate a disorderly call. Upon their arrival, they located an adult male victim, Alphonzo Epps, 20, who was unconscious, unresponsive, and suffering from an apparent stab wound. DC Fire and EMS transported the victim to a local area hospital. At 10:45 pm the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

I spoke at length with a resident who recognized me from visits to prior shrines in this same courtyard. She said this killing was totally senseless, and involved a dispute over romantic loyalties. In her view, it should have been settled with words rather than violence. Mr Epps, whose nickname was "Fee" leaves behind a child. This shrine was built on his car, and is being maintained by his friends and grieving family, and candles are lit upon it at night.

May there be peace to his soul, and support and strength to his child.

HomicideWatch has additional information

Shrine for Glenn Bailey / 7th & Edgewood NE

This large shrine is at the entrance of a parking lot to a large apartment complex.

From HomicideWatch:

Glenn M. Bailey, 46, was fatally stabbed May 17, 2011, in the area of 7th and Edgewood Streets NE, Washington DC. Police responding to a call arrived in the area at 3:40 p.m. and found Bailey breathing, but unconscious, unresponsive and bleeding profusely, according the Washington Post . He was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The Washington Post said police are searching for two men and a woman who were involved in an argument at an apartment complex on Edgewood Street. In a northeast DC parking lot on Tuesday, prosecutors believe Glenn Bailey, in the heat of an argument, told a woman to "get her boyfriend." She said she could "do it herself," and the two exchanged blows. Bailey was killed when a man pushed the woman aside, and stabbed Bailey at least four times, breaking one of his ribs and puncturing his lung. Bailey died less than a half hour later. Two witnesses identified Damien Pannell, 30, as responsible for the stabbing, Mr. Pannell has been arrested and charged with the slaying.

Justice... and peace, peace, peace...

RIP tags for Moeconi Crutchfield

These memorial tags to Mr. Crutchfield, and perhaps others from previous incidents, were created in an alley behind the busy intersection of Minnesota and Pennsylvania Avenues SE, Washington DC, in the back of a pizza shop.

From a DC police report:
On Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at approximately 9:45 pm, units from the Sixth District responded to the rear of the 2400 block of Minnesota Avenue SE, Washington, DC. Upon their arrival they found an adult male victim, Moeconi Crutchfield, 30, suffering from gunshot wounds. DC Fire and EMS transported the victim to a local hospital where he was subsequently pronounced dead.


More specific information is available at HomicideWatch.

Shrine for James Speakes Jr. / Oxon Hill MD

This memorial, just a block from the DC city line, is in the parking lot of a small liquor store. It is in remembrance of the life of James Speakes Jr.

From a police report:
On May 11, 2011 at approximately 7:04 pm., Prince Georges County patrol officers responded to the 4400 block of Wheeler Road, Oxon Hill MD, for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found James William Speaks, Jr., 28, in the parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Peace now...

More information on the situation:

Flowers/double homicide- Okasha Hawkins and Joshua Carrol

This small flower shrine is in the 600 block of Modoc Lane, in Forest Heights, Maryland, just a few blocks beyond the DC line.
It is at the site of the slayings of Okasha M. Hawkins, 22, and Joshua Carrol, 23.
From a police report:
Prince George's County Police officers were called to the 600 block of Modoc Lane in Forest Heights to investigate a report of the sound of gun shots around 1:50 am on May 17, 2011. Patrol officers responding to the scene found a male victim suffering from body trauma, who was pronounced dead at the scene. During their investigation, police said the body of a second male victim was discovered. Both bodies were found outside of the residence at that location but there were not in the same location. No information has been released on possible suspects or motive in the homicide.

For more information on this sad situation, see the blog Gory PG.