On a Saturday evening in Northeast Washington, D.C., the life of 34-year-old Daniel Lamont Adams was cut short in a burst of violence. It was November 25, 2023, when officers responded to a call at approximately 9:10 p.m. in the 1300 block of Florida Avenue, Northeast, where they found Adams being treated by emergency medical personnel for gunshot wounds.
He was rushed to a local hospital in grave condition and succumbed to his injuries the following day.
Investigators later determined that the shooting had actually taken place several blocks away in the 1700 block of Benning Road, Northeast. Surveillance footage from that location captured the chilling moments leading up to the fatal encounter. The footage showed a man, later identified as 40-year-old Andre Hicks of Capitol Heights, Maryland, approach a group of people, including Adams, who was leaning against a fence. Hicks walked up the front stairs of a nearby building, looked back at Adams, and then descended the steps while drawing a handgun.
Without any apparent provocation captured on video, Hicks opened fire on Adams, continuing to shoot as Adams tried to flee. The investigation revealed that Hicks and Adams were acquainted, having been friends on Facebook and interacting shortly before the shooting. Following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch, an arrest warrant was issued for Hicks.
On January 4, 2024, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Andre Hicks. He was initially charged with First Degree Murder While Armed. In February 2024, Hicks pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder while armed. Subsequently, a judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for the murder of Daniel Lamont Adams.
