In the late hours of a rainy September evening in Washington, D.C., a violent encounter at a gas station claimed the life of 38-year-old Phillip Roache. On September 17, 2020, at approximately 11:41 p.m., Roache was pumping gas in the 7000 block of Blair Road NW when he was ambushed by a gunman. The assailant, a male, approached him and fired a silver pistol multiple times, striking Roache ten times before fleeing the scene in Roache's own vehicle.
Responding to reports of gunshots,
Metropolitan Police Department officers discovered a chaotic scene. Another man was found conscious with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, while a search of the area led to the discovery of Roache, unconscious and unresponsive, in the 7000 block of 5th Street NW. Emergency medical services arrived but could do nothing for him; Phillip Roache was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a resident of Waldorf, Maryland.
Nearly a month after the fatal shooting, on October 25, 2020, authorities arrested 34-year-old Jacobi Williams of Southwest, D.C., in connection with the murder. Williams was charged with first-degree murder while armed. At the time of the incident, Williams was under the supervision of the Pretrial Services Agency for a prior alleged offense. Investigators pieced together evidence that included surveillance footage from the gas station and a nearby convenience store that Williams had visited prior to the shooting. This footage captured a suspect whose clothing and light complexion matched Williams. A key piece of evidence was Williams' gray Mitsubishi, found near the crime scene. On a night of rainfall, the car's dry windshield suggested it had been recently driven. Inside the vehicle, police found receipts from a Pizza Hut and a 7-Eleven in Waldorf, Maryland, further linking the suspect to the area where the victim resided.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, a D.C. Superior Court judge found probable cause to move the case against Jacobi Williams to trial, citing the compelling surveillance evidence. The prosecution highlighted Williams's significant criminal history, which included a prior charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. Throughout the court hearings, Williams has remained detained.
