On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 41-year-old Philip Prendergast was shot and killed during an armed robbery in Northwest Washington, D.C. The incident occurred at approximately 2:56 p.m. at a business on the 5100 block of Georgia Avenue, Northwest, which was later identified as the Hotbox Uptown dispensary where Prendergast was an employee. Prendergast, a resident of Silver Spring, Maryland, was also a rapper known by the stage name Phil Da Phuture.
Two individuals entered the dispensary,
brandishing handguns and demanding money and property. Prendergast and another employee complied with the robbers' demands. Despite their compliance, one of the suspects fired a weapon, striking Prendergast. The suspects then fled the scene with the stolen cash and property. Emergency services transported Prendergast to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries hours later.
In the course of their investigation, the Metropolitan Police Department identified a suspect. On Monday, May 6, 2024, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 21-year-old Trenton Collins of Northwest, D.C., in connection with the murder. Collins has been charged with first-degree murder while armed-felony murder. A subsequent court hearing in June 2024 found probable cause that Collins was the perpetrator.
During a search of Collins' residence, investigators found clothing that appeared to match what one of the assailants was wearing in surveillance footage of the robbery, including a distinctive pair of white Air Force 1 sneakers. Police also discovered a black ski mask, latex gloves, and a handgun with ammunition in Collins' bedroom. Video evidence reportedly shows the alleged assailants leaving the scene of the crime and returning to Collins' residence. While Collins' attorney argued the evidence was circumstantial, the judge found probable cause to move forward with the case. The police are still searching for the second suspect involved in the robbery and homicide.
