In the early hours of June 4, 2014, 33-year-old Rashard Raigns, a Black man, was found shot and killed in Northeast Washington, D.C.. Police responded to a call at approximately 2:42 a.m. and discovered Raigns unconscious on the sidewalk in the 1900 block of Fenwick Street NE. He had sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene.
At the time of his death, Raigns was of no fixed address and had been staying at a nearby homeless shelter.
The investigation into Raigns's death revealed that he was the victim of a robbery gone wrong. Earlier in the evening, he had purchased a new laptop. While he was sitting on a blanket on the sidewalk with his belongings, he was targeted by three individuals who wanted to steal his computer. Surveillance footage showed the attackers observing Raigns before approaching him. During a struggle over the laptop, one of the assailants fired a single shot from a revolver, killing Raigns.
The Metropolitan Police Department's investigation led to the swift apprehension of three suspects. Within a week of the murder, police arrested 22-year-old William Smallwood and a juvenile male. A second juvenile, 16-year-old Demitrich Jones, was also taken into custody and charged as an adult. A third individual, a 13-year-old boy who acted as a lookout, was also arrested. Jones later confessed to police that he and Smallwood had planned to rob Raigns of his laptop and that Smallwood fired the fatal shot when Raigns resisted.
In April 2015, both William Smallwood and Demitrich Jones pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. In June of that year, Smallwood, then 23, was sentenced to 22 years in prison, while the 17-year-old Jones received a sentence of 18 years of incarceration. Following their prison terms, both men will be subject to five years of supervised release.
