In the early hours of Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2020, the life of 39-year-old Edward Pearson was tragically cut short in an apartment building in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call about an unconscious person at approximately 9:29 a.m. in the 2900 block of Connecticut Avenue NW, an area adjacent to the National Zoo.
Upon their arrival at the Parkwest apartment building, officers discovered a grim scene.
Inside one of the apartments, they found Pearson on a couch, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Emergency medical services were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. In the hallway of the same floor, authorities found another man who had also been shot, suffering a wound to his ear. This second victim's injuries were not life-threatening, and he was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Pearson was of no fixed address and was believed to have been visiting an acquaintance in the apartment where he was killed.
The investigation into the shooting led detectives to identify a suspect. On Wednesday, December 9, 2020, police arrested 27-year-old Ernest Cleveland of Suitland, Maryland, in connection with Pearson's death. Cleveland was subsequently charged with second-degree murder while armed and assault with intent to kill. The arrest affidavit suggested that Pearson had been involved in a dispute with the shooter, though the specific nature of the disagreement was not detailed.
Further investigation by the police revealed additional alleged offenses committed by Cleveland. He was also charged in relation to an incident that occurred on December 8, 2020, where he allegedly brandished a handgun at another individual. This led to the recovery of a firearm and narcotics, resulting in a host of other charges against him, including assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a pistol without a license, and various firearm and drug possession offenses. At the time of his arrest, Cleveland was under the supervision of the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services' Division of Parole & Probation. In March 2022, a DC Superior Court judge scheduled a murder trial for Cleveland after he rejected a plea deal on charges that had been elevated to first-degree murder while armed, among other offenses.
