Tiffany Wiggins was a mother, a grandmother, and a volunteer who worked to stop the cycle of violence that had struck her own family. A 38-year-old Black woman from Washington, D.C., she was described by a friend as "the life of the party" and "a beautiful soul inside and out." Ms. Wiggins had two sons, ages 3 and 20, and adored her mother. After her brother Andre was shot and killed in 2011 and her brother Darryl survived a shooting, she began volunteering as a violence interrupter in her
community.
On the morning of Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022, Ms. Wiggins’s life was cut short. At approximately 11:16 a.m., members of the Metropolitan Police Department responded to reports of gunshots in the 3800 block of Minnesota Avenue, Northeast. Arriving at the scene, officers found Ms. Wiggins inside a vehicle, unconscious and suffering from gunshot wounds. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel found no signs of life, and she was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the homicide led to two arrests over the next several months. On June 7, 2022, police arrested 37-year-old Morris Jones of Southeast, D.C., based on a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant. Three months later, on September 8, 2022, the MPD's Fugitive Unit arrested a second man, 41-year-old Norvin Dickerson of District Heights, Maryland. Both men were charged with first-degree murder while armed.
The case against the accused men proceeded through the court system. In June 2023, Morris Jones was arraigned on an 18-count indictment. The charges included first-degree murder, conspiracy, assault with intent to kill while armed, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He entered a plea of not guilty to all charges. As of that month, Jones was awaiting trial.
