In the late afternoon of February 24, 2016, a trivial encounter inside a market in Southeast Washington, D.C., quickly escalated into a fatal shooting. Demetrius Christopher Medlay, a 22-year-old man, bumped shoulders with Justin Robinson, leading to a brief argument. Following the dispute, Robinson communicated with Kevin Grover about Medlay. Moments later, Grover approached Medlay, pulled out a semi-automatic firearm, and shot him twice in the chest in the 3100 block of Martin Luther King Jr.
Avenue, SE.
After being shot, Medlay managed to run back to the food market where the initial argument occurred before collapsing. He was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The shooting occurred in broad daylight, at approximately 2:50 p.m., on a busy street. Initial police reports indicated they were searching for a Black male suspect who fled the scene in a green vehicle with Virginia license plates.
The investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department led to the arrest of Kevin Grover, then 24, in August 2016. He was charged with murder. A second suspect, 18-year-old Justin Robinson, was arrested in July 2017 and also charged with first-degree murder while armed. In October 2018, both men pleaded guilty to charges related to Medlay's death. Grover pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while Robinson pleaded guilty to assault with intent to kill. Their plea agreements called for prison sentences of 16 to 20 years for Grover and three to seven years for Robinson.
