On a Thursday morning, November 12, 2015, the sounds of gunfire echoed through the 5300 block of Clay Terrace in Northeast Washington, D.C. When the chaos subsided, 29-year-old Antwan Baker of Southeast, D.C., was left dead on the sidewalk from multiple gunshot wounds. Another man who was with Baker was also injured in the attack. Witnesses reported hearing ten to fifteen shots and described the incident as an execution-style shooting, with the suspects fleeing the scene in a black sedan.
For more than two hours, Baker's body remained on the sidewalk as police began their investigation, a tragic scene that was further compounded by the anguish of his relatives who had to be restrained at the police tape.
The investigation into Antwan Baker's murder unfolded over the next several years, revealing a violent feud that had plagued the neighborhoods along East Capitol Street. In August 2016, authorities arrested 26-year-old Joseph Brown and charged him with first-degree murder while armed for Baker's death. Nearly a year later, in June 2017, a second suspect, 24-year-old Rondell McLeod, was also arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
The cases against Brown and McLeod revealed a deadly back-and-forth rivalry that resulted in at least three deaths. Authorities stated that Baker's murder was in retaliation for another killing that had occurred just two weeks prior. In that incident, Antwan Baker was identified as the suspect in the fatal shooting of a man named Reid, which was described as a 'preemptive strike.'
Ultimately, Joseph Brown pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed for his role in Antwan Baker's death. He admitted to getting out of a vehicle and shooting Baker six times in the back of the head and neck. For his involvement in this and another homicide, Brown was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Rondell McLeod also faced legal consequences for his part in the string of violence.
