In the summer of 2018, a young man's life was tragically cut short on a Friday night in Southeast Washington, D.C. Twenty-two-year-old David Hart was in the 4300 block of 4th Street, Southeast, on July 27th when violence erupted. Just before 10 p.m., the sound of gunfire shattered the evening calm, and when police arrived, they found Hart suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Emergency services rushed him to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal.
The investigation into the shooting quickly identified a person of interest. Three days after the incident, the Metropolitan Police Department announced they were searching for 28-year-old Marcus Whitaker in connection with Hart's death. A warrant was issued for Whitaker's arrest on a charge of second-degree murder while armed. Police described him as a Black male, approximately 5'11' and 140 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous. For nearly ten months, the search for Whitaker continued.
Finally, on May 8, 2019, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force located and apprehended Marcus Whitaker in Southeast, D.C. He was arrested pursuant to a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant and formally charged with the murder of David Hart, bringing a long-awaited development in a case that had left a family and a community searching for answers.
