In the late afternoon of a Tuesday in Washington, D.C., the life of 18-year-old Tesean Jermaine Ashe was tragically cut short. On September 13, 2016, at approximately 5:26 p.m., police responded to reports of a shooting in the 700 block of 16th Street, Northeast. Upon their arrival, they discovered the young man from Southeast, D.C., unconscious and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Emergency medical services transported him to a local hospital, but his injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead. The shooting took place in a residential area near the well-known 'Starburst' intersection, where several major thoroughfares converge. In the initial stages of their investigation, authorities were searching for a suspect who had reportedly been seen fleeing the scene on a black scooter.
The investigation into the death of Tesean Jermaine Ashe progressed, and with the aid of surveillance footage and information from the community, a suspect was identified. On Monday, October 3, 2016, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force located and arrested 41-year-old Antwan Horactio Buchanan of Northeast, D.C. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder while armed in connection with the fatal shooting.
In September 2018, Antwan Horactio Buchanan pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm. The case culminated in a sentencing hearing in February 2019, where a D.C. Superior Court judge sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the hearing, it was revealed that the tragic incident began with a verbal altercation between Ashe, who was riding a bicycle in a parking lot, and Buchanan. The argument escalated, and when Ashe attempted to flee, Buchanan pursued him, drew a firearm, and shot him four times. In a statement to the court, Buchanan, a father of seven, apologized and claimed he felt 'pressured' into defending himself, a claim that stood in contrast to the prosecution's account of the events. The victim's grandmother also spoke, questioning why a grown man would take the life of a teenager in broad daylight. Following his prison term, Buchanan is expected to serve five years of supervised release.
