In the early evening of October 6, 2021, on the Unit Block of O Street, Northwest in Washington, D.C., 20-year-old Rufus Davis, a male, became involved in an argument outside a senior apartment building. The dispute was with 43-year-old Marcha Johnson. As the confrontation escalated, Johnson, in an animated manner, got in Davis's face. The verbal exchange continued for several minutes near Johnson's vehicle.
The argument took a fatal turn when Davis approached Johnson.
Johnson then brandished a handgun and, from only inches away, fired a single shot into Davis's face. As the young man turned to get away, Johnson shot him twice more in the back. After Davis fell to the ground, Johnson stood over him and fired two final bullets into his head. Emergency services responded to the scene around 8:21 p.m. following reports of gunshots. Davis was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
A week later, on October 13, 2021, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Marcha Johnson. He was initially charged with second-degree murder while armed. In a plea agreement, Johnson pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed. During the sentencing, Davis's family described him as a 'good spirit' who had dreams of traveling and was just shy of his 21st birthday. In April 2022, a D.C. Superior Court judge sentenced Marcha Johnson to 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for the killing.
