Do you know who murdered Anthony Cunningham? In the fall of 2023, a young man's life was tragically cut short on his way to an after-school job in Northeast Washington, D.C. Seventeen-year-old Antonio Cunningham was walking to the Jersey Mike's sub shop where he worked on the afternoon of September 11th. He had just left a Chipotle with a friend when they were accosted by a group of masked individuals.
The assailants, who were believed to be teenagers, had pulled up in two vehicles, a black SUV and a blue Kia Sportage, and jumped out.
The encounter was part of a day-long armed robbery spree where the perpetrators were targeting victims for their sneakers. One of the assailants, armed with a handgun, demanded the other victim's white Balenciaga sneakers, which he gave up before fleeing. The gunman then turned his attention to Antonio, who was wearing gray Nike Air Jordan 3 sneakers, and pressed him against a wall. During the attempted robbery, a bystander who was legally armed with a handgun intervened. The gunman then opened fire, striking Antonio in the head and the bystander in the chest. Antonio succumbed to his injuries, while the man who tried to help him was critically wounded but survived.
The Metropolitan Police Department's investigation led to the arrests of 16-year-old Marlan Smith Jr. and 17-year-old Anthony Monroe on November 2, 2023. They were both charged as adults with first-degree murder while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, and several counts of robbery in connection with the crime spree on September 11th. Court documents revealed that the suspects were involved in multiple armed robberies on the day of the fatal shooting.
In October 2024, both Marlan Smith, then 17, and Anthony Monroe, then 18, accepted a plea deal. They pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. In exchange for their guilty pleas, the prosecution agreed not to seek an indictment on higher charges and to dismiss charges for five other robberies that occurred on the same day, as well as other juvenile cases. The agreed-upon sentencing range for both teenagers is 13 to 18 years of incarceration, with their sentencing set for March 14, 2025.
