In the summer of 2016, a fatal shooting in Northwest Washington, D.C. claimed the life of 59-year-old Chijioke C. Agbakahi. The incident occurred on the evening of August 5th, at approximately 7 p.m., in the 5100 block of Georgia Avenue NW. Agbakahi was socializing with friends behind a local Caribbean market when two gunmen approached the group in what authorities believe was an attempted robbery.
During the confrontation, gunfire erupted, and Agbakahi was struck.
He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries five days later, on August 10th. Initially, the police had no suspects or a definitive motive for the shooting and sought the public's help in identifying two persons of interest seen in a video near the crime scene.
The investigation progressed, and ballistics evidence played a crucial role in identifying a suspect. Bullet casings found at the scene of Agbakahi's shooting were matched to a. 40-caliber handgun used in another fatal shooting in Prince George's County, Maryland, on August 17th. This link led authorities to Master Matthew Thomas, a 30-year-old from Southeast Washington.
In October 2016, while already in custody for the Maryland homicide, Thomas was charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with the death of Chijioke Agbakahi. Despite the arrest of Thomas, police continued to search for a second individual believed to have been involved in the shooting. Court proceedings for Thomas in relation to Agbakahi's murder were ongoing as of late 2019.
