On a summer afternoon in Washington, D.C., a burst of violence cut short the life of 21-year-old Amari Jenkins. The male victim was gunned down on August 18, 2015, on the front lawn of St. Luke Roman Catholic Church on East Capitol Street SE. The scene was one of chaos and raw emotion as Jenkins’ relatives arrived, their grief echoing through the streets.
His body, lying near a statue of Jesus, became a stark symbol of a summer marked by a significant increase in homicides in the city, a crime wave that deeply concerned the mayor and the police chief.
The attack was sudden and brutal. Assailants emerged from a blue minivan that had pulled up in front of the church and fired approximately 28 rounds at Jenkins. He was shot multiple times just after noon. The suspects then quickly got back into their vehicle and fled the scene, leaving a grieving family and a shaken community behind. The brazen daylight shooting was one of three separate fatal shootings that occurred on that single tumultuous afternoon in the District.
For more than two years, the case remained a painful, unresolved chapter for Jenkins' loved ones. Then, in December 2017, authorities announced the arrests of two suspects, Rondell McLeod, then 24, and Joseph Antonio, then 27, who was also identified as Joseph Brown. Both men, residents of Northeast D.C., were charged with first-degree murder while armed. A third individual, Alicia N. McCoy, was later sentenced to two years of incarceration for lying to the grand jury during the investigation into the murder.
The legal process culminated in plea agreements that were met with anguish by Jenkins' family, who felt the proposed sentences were insufficient for the loss of their son's life. Joseph Brown pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in Jenkins' death and another homicide. Rondell McLeod pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed and received a 10-year prison sentence, which was to be served after he completed a separate 11-year sentence for federal robbery charges. During the sentencing, Jenkins' mother expressed her profound and unending grief, telling the court that she 'died that day' her son was killed.
