In the heart of the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., on the afternoon of March 15, 2020, the life of 18-year-old Naseem Simpson was tragically cut short. At approximately 3:11 p.m., in the 3000 block of 14th Street, Northwest, the sounds of gunshots pierced the air. When officers from the Third District arrived at the scene, they discovered a young man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Despite the efforts of emergency responders, Naseem Simpson, a resident of Northwest, D.C., succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the homicide quickly led detectives to a suspect. On March 26, 2020, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, acting on a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant, located and apprehended 19-year-old Khamari Perkins of Southeast, D.C. Perkins was subsequently charged with First Degree Murder While Armed. The investigation revealed a heartbreaking betrayal, as it was later stated in court that Perkins had been a friend of his victim. At the time of the shooting, Perkins was on release for a separate, unrelated case and was being monitored by a court-issued GPS device.
The legal proceedings that followed painted a grim picture of the events that transpired. Initially, Perkins was offered a plea deal which he rejected, and a trial was scheduled. However, in a subsequent hearing, Khamari Perkins accepted a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to a modified charge of second-degree murder. During the sentencing hearing, the court heard powerful and emotional victim impact statements from eight members of Naseem Simpson's family. They spoke of their profound loss and the trauma inflicted upon them by the violent actions of someone their loved one had considered a friend. Ultimately, the judge sentenced Khamari Perkins to 156 months of incarceration, to be followed by five years of supervised release for his role in the death of Naseem Simpson.
