In the summer of 2018, a young man's life was tragically cut short in Northeast Washington, D.C. Daymond Chicas, a 24-year-old male from Manassas, Virginia, was working as a contractor on the afternoon of June 11th. He was installing a surveillance system at the Kelly Miller Pool in the 300 block of 50th Street NE, a job intended to enhance the safety of the community space.
The situation took a fatal turn when a group of children reportedly stole his cell phone and fled.
Chicas gave chase to retrieve his property. Upon his return to the pool area, he was confronted by an assailant and shot multiple times. He was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition but succumbed to his injuries the following day, on June 12, 2018. The graduate of Stonewall Jackson High School was remembered by his family as a hardworking individual simply doing his job.
The investigation into the homicide led to the arrest of a 17-year-old from Northeast Washington, Bernard McKinney, a little over a month after the shooting. McKinney was charged as an adult with first-degree murder. According to court documents, a witness stated that after Chicas chased the juveniles who took his phone, they encountered McKinney and another unidentified individual, who was the one to fatally shoot Chicas.
Ultimately, the murder charge against McKinney was dropped as part of a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to a charge of armed robbery for his involvement in the events that led to the death of Daymond Chicas. In May 2021, a judge sentenced McKinney, who was 17 at the time of the offense, to five years in prison under the Youth Rehabilitation Act. The individual who fired the gun that killed Daymond Chicas was never publicly identified.
