On the evening of September 24, 2018, a dispute on a street in Northeast Washington, D.C., turned fatal, ending the life of 25-year-old Marquiawn Williams, a Black male. The incident unfolded at approximately 7:33 p.m. in the 1800 block of Benning Road, NE, where Williams encountered another man. What began as a verbal altercation, reportedly because Williams was staring at the other individual, quickly escalated into a physical fight.
Though the two men did not know each other, the
confrontation grew heated. At one point, they were separated by another person on the scene. Following this separation, the man Williams had been arguing with armed himself. The fight resumed, and during this second physical exchange, Marquiawn Williams was shot and killed. Investigators later confirmed that Williams was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
The Metropolitan Police Department launched a homicide investigation. On December 10, 2018, authorities arrested a suspect, Rickie Collier, in connection with Williams' death. Collier was subsequently charged with second-degree murder while armed. During the investigation, it was revealed that Collier confessed to the shooting, stating he 'took that person's life.' His defense attorney argued that Collier acted in self-defense, believing Williams was reaching for a weapon. However, a judge found probable cause to proceed with the case, noting that Collier armed himself after the two had already been separated. It was also noted that Collier, who had a prior criminal history, was on supervised release at the time of the incident.
