In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 17, 2019, the sounds of gunshots shattered the predawn quiet in the 1700 block of Q Street, Southeast, Washington, D.C. Responding to the call at approximately 3:05 a.m., members of the Sixth District discovered a man lying in the street in the 1500 block of 18th Street, Southeast, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
The victim was identified as 28-year-old William Roland, a resident of Southeast, D.C.
Emergency medical services arrived at the scene and quickly transported Roland to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. A police report later indicated he had been struck in the chest and neck, and investigators recovered eleven shell casings from the scene. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, William Roland succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
For months, the case remained under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch, who offered a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Then, on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, a significant development occurred in the case. Acting on a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant, police arrested 26-year-old Melvin Simmons of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Simmons was transported to the Homicide Branch where he was formally charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with the fatal shooting of William Roland.
