In the early hours of May 13, 2017, a gathering at an Extended Stay America hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, turned tragic. Desmond A. Roseboro, a 28-year-old man, was attending a party following a memorial service for his cousin. An altercation broke out, and in the ensuing violence, Roseboro and two women were shot. Emergency services were called to the hotel on Bluestone Road around 2 a.m., where they found the three victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
All three were transported to local hospitals. The two women, aged 21 and 35, had non-life-threatening injuries and survived. However, Roseboro’s injuries were critical, and he succumbed to them the following day, on May 14, 2017. His sudden death left his family and friends mourning the loss of a man described as driven, polite, and kind. He had graduated from T.C. Williams High School and worked in the heating and air conditioning trade.
The Alexandria Police Department launched an investigation into the triple shooting. Their efforts led them to identify 19-year-old Demarcus Robertson, an Alexandria resident, as the suspect. In August 2017, a grand jury indicted Robertson on multiple felony charges, including murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, and firearm offenses. Despite the indictment, Robertson remained at large, and authorities considered him armed and dangerous, prompting a public appeal for information on his whereabouts.
The search for Robertson concluded with his arrest, and the legal process moved forward. In July 2018, the case went to trial. After hearing the evidence, a jury convicted Demarcus Robertson, who was then 20 years old. Instead of murder, the jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Desmond Roseboro. He was also convicted on two counts of unlawful wounding for the injuries sustained by the two women. The jury recommended the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison: 10 years for manslaughter and five years for each count of unlawful wounding. He was formally sentenced in September 2018.
