On a summer afternoon, the life of 44-year-old Charles Antonio Stanton of Southeast, DC, was tragically cut short. On July 4, 2023, at approximately 4:28 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting in the unit block of Patterson Street, Northeast in Washington, D.C. Upon their arrival, they discovered Stanton lying in the street, unconscious and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Despite the immediate response and life-saving efforts of DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Stanton was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:40 p.m. It was later determined that he had sustained at least 13 gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the homicide was conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch. Through their investigation, which included the review of surveillance video, detectives were able to identify a suspect. The footage captured a conversation between the suspect and Stanton, after which the suspect retrieved a handgun and began shooting as Stanton attempted to leave on his bicycle. The video showed Stanton falling to the ground, where the gunman continued to shoot him. Investigators were able to get the license plate number from the suspect's vehicle seen in the video, which led to his identification and subsequent arrest. No weapon was found on or near Stanton's body.
On September 4, 2023, authorities arrested 38-year-old Brandon Smith of Northwest, D.C., in connection with the murder. He was charged with Second-Degree Murder while Armed. On February 4, 2024, Smith pleaded guilty to the charge. Subsequently, on July 19, 2024, Brandon Smith was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of Charles Antonio Stanton. In addition to his prison sentence, the judge ordered five years of supervised release and required him to register as a gun offender. During the sentencing, it was revealed that detectives had found the murder weapon inside a toilet tank at Smith's residence, along with the shirt he was wearing at the time of the shooting. Smith's defense attorney stated that he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident and was not aware of the gravity of his actions.
