In the summer of 2022, the life of 17-year-old Damari Deon Wright of Alexandria, Virginia, was tragically cut short in a fatal shooting in Northeast D.C. On the evening of July 9, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department were dispatched to the 3500 block of Hayes Street Northeast around 5:30 p.m. after reports of gunshots. Upon their arrival, they discovered the young male inside a vehicle, suffering from gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of D.C.
Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Wright was found unconscious and not breathing; he was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was subsequently taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The investigation into the homicide led to a significant breakthrough exactly one month later. On August 9, 2022, police arrested 18-year-old Marquelle Hodges and charged him with second-degree murder while armed. The case saw further development with the arrest of a second suspect, 18-year-old Kenneth Swann of Southeast, D.C., who faced the same charge. Both arrests were made by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force based on D.C. Superior Court arrest warrants.
In November 2022, both Hodges and Swann accepted plea agreements. Swann pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed. Hodges entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge of being an accessory after the fact to the killing. The resolution of the case through these plea deals brought a measure of closure to the tragic death of Damari Deon Wright, though the motive behind the shooting was not publicly detailed.
