In the late evening hours of March 25, 2020, the sound of gunshots echoed through the 3500 block of A Street in Southeast Washington, D.C. Responding to the reports, officers from the Sixth District arrived at the scene around 10:05 p.m. to find a man unconscious and suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was identified as 33-year-old Zenus Epps, a resident of Southeast, D.C. D.C.
Fire and Emergency Medical Services transported him to a local hospital, but his life could not be saved, and he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later confirmed that Epps died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation into the death of the male victim quickly pointed to a suspect. Less than a month later, on April 24, 2020, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 26-year-old Eldred Watts, also a resident of Southeast, D.C. Watts was subsequently charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with Epps's death. The shooting reportedly occurred at close range shortly after Epps had left his girlfriend's apartment. Court documents revealed that the incident was preceded by a dispute between Epps and Watts' girlfriend. A witness positively identified Watts as the shooter.
In a turn of events, Eldred Watts entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. On October 25, 2021, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. The plea deal also resolved another pending case against him, in which he pleaded guilty to attempted robbery while armed. Following the plea agreement, a judge sentenced Watts to 13 years in prison for the death of Zenus Epps, to be followed by five years of supervised release. He received a concurrent five-year sentence for the attempted armed robbery charge. At the sentencing, Epps's sister implored the judge for a harsher penalty, but the sentence was kept within the terms of the plea deal.
