In the early afternoon of a spring day in Southeast Washington, D.C., the life of 32-year-old Clayton Marshall was tragically cut short. On Tuesday, April 12, 2022, at approximately 12:22 p.m., the sound of gunfire echoed in the 2200 block of Savannah Street, Southeast. When Seventh District officers arrived at the scene, they discovered a man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a local hospital in a desperate attempt to save his life, but his injuries proved to be fatal.
Another man was also found at a different local hospital, receiving treatment for gunshot wounds sustained in the same incident.
The investigation into the shooting that claimed the life of Clayton Marshall, a resident of Southwest, D.C., was undertaken by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch. For over a year and a half, detectives worked to piece together the events of that day. Their efforts culminated in a significant breakthrough on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, when an arrest was made. A 19-year-old from Southeast, D.C., Derrico Johnson, who was already in custody at the D.C. Jail on other matters, was charged with First Degree Murder While Armed in connection with Marshall's death.
Further details emerged from the legal proceedings that followed. It was revealed that the shooting was a drive-by incident that occurred near a market. Tragically, it appears that neither Clayton Marshall nor the second man who was injured were the intended targets of the gunfire. In a subsequent development, Derrico Johnson, a member of a crew known as 'Get Back Gang' or 'the Z,' pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed for the killing of Clayton Marshall. His guilty plea was part of a larger case involving multiple defendants and other violent crimes in the city, bringing a measure of resolution to the senseless act that ended a man's life.
