On the evening of September 3, 2019, a conflict that began earlier in the day escalated with deadly consequences on a street in Washington, D.C. Twenty-eight-year-old Kalin Louis Middleton, a male, was a passenger in a BMW being driven by a friend on Eastern Avenue, NE. The driver noticed they were being followed by a green two-door Lexus and after a series of turns to confirm his suspicion, he pulled over on the 900 block of Division Avenue, NE.
He urged Middleton to resolve whatever issue was at hand with the individual who had been pursuing them.
The driver of the Lexus, later identified as Lavelle Watts, exited his vehicle and approached the passenger side of the BMW where Middleton was seated. Without warning, Watts began firing multiple shots into the car. Both Middleton and the driver were struck by the gunfire. They managed to drive to a local hospital for help. Despite medical efforts, Kalin Louis Middleton succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The driver of the vehicle survived after receiving treatment for his wounds.
Investigators were able to trace the suspect's vehicle to an individual connected to Lavelle Watts. An examination of phone records between Watts and Middleton revealed that the two men knew each other and had been in communication just two days before the fatal shooting. In December 2021, more than two years after the incident, police arrested 28-year-old Lavelle Watts and charged him with first-degree murder while armed.
During legal proceedings, a judge found probable cause to move the case to trial, citing the connection between the suspect's vehicle and Watts as a key piece of evidence. Ultimately, in June 2022, Lavelle Watts pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed. The plea carried a potential maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
