On a Thursday afternoon, February 18, 2021, the life of 30-year-old Youness Zarouaki, a male resident of Alexandria, Virginia, was brought to a sudden and violent end. At approximately 3:13 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting in the 1000 block of Thomas Jefferson Street, Northwest, in Washington, D.C. Upon arrival, they discovered Zarouaki inside a residence near the Georgetown waterfront, suffering from a gunshot wound.
Emergency services transported him to a local hospital, but his life could not be saved, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the homicide revealed the incident was a robbery gone wrong. The residence where Zarouaki was shot was known for hosting 'marijuana parties' and for the sale of the drug. According to charging documents and witness testimony, two men, with at least one other accomplice, had planned to rob the occupants of the home. The assailants entered the residence and, while pointing guns, demanded drugs and personal property from those inside.
During the attempted robbery, one of the suspects, believing someone in the house was reaching for a gun, opened fire. Youness Zarouaki was struck in the neck by the gunfire, and another individual was wounded. For more than two years, the case remained under investigation until the Metropolitan Police Department's Fugitive Unit made an arrest. On September 14, 2023, authorities took 29-year-old Michael Sanders of Northwest, D.C., into custody. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with Zarouaki's death.
Further investigation linked Sanders to another unsolved homicide from July 2020, and he faced a second murder charge for that crime. Another suspect, 31-year-old Darnell Resper, was also charged alongside Sanders in relation to the incident that led to Zarouaki's death. The charges against both men included first-degree murder while armed, attempted robbery, conspiracy, and various firearm offenses.
