Washington, D.C. - A Northwest District of Columbia man, Lorenzo Woods, has been found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder while armed and related weapons offenses in connection with the brutal cold-blooded killing of Javelle Poindexter and Antonio Alston on June 12, 2005, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Woods, 20, of the 1300 block of Belmont Street, NW, Washington, D.C., was found guilty yesterday by a Superior Court jury of Conspiracy, two counts of Second Degree Murder while Armed, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence or Dangerous Offense, and Carrying a Pistol without a License, in connection with the June 2005 murders of Javelle Poindexter and Antonio Alston. Woods will be sentenced by the Honorable Geoffrey M. Alprin on May 23, 2008. He faces over 100 years of imprisonment for these offenses.

According to the government’s evidence, on June 12, 2005, at approximately 3:00 a.m., Lorenzo Woods, and others from the Clifton Terrace area of Northwest Washington, decided to escalate a long-standing “beef” between two rival neighborhoods. Woods and others drove to the area of Harvard Street, NW, where Woods believed that members of the rival neighborhood were outside “loafing,” that is, doing nothing more than hanging out with friends. Upon seeing a group of approximately ten young men on Harvard Street, Woods opened fire. Woods fired at least 8 shots, and ended up striking Javelle Poindexter, who was 20 years old, and Antonio Alston, who was 19 years old, neither of whom had anything to do with the long standing “beef.” Both young men died that same day, each suffering from a single gunshot wound to the back, sustained as they tried to flee the scene. The medical examiner performed autopsies on both of the victims and determined that the cause of death was from a single gunshot wound to each and the manner of death was homicide.

In announcing the jury’s verdict, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised the outstanding efforts of numerous members of the Metropolitan Police Department, including Sergeant Robert Alder, Lieutenant Ozetta Posey, Sergeant Chris Kaufmann, Detectives Gus Giannakoulias and Thomas Webb, Officers Thomas Ellingsworth and Christopher Dove, Mobile Crime Technicians William Hyatt, David Murray, Kevin Jeter, and Keith Slaughter, and District of Columbia Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Marie-Lydie Y. Pierre-Louis. He also commended the efforts of Victim Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant and Paralegal Nicole Tate. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Cohen, Amanda Haines, and Laura Bach, who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Pearlman and Laura Bach who tried the case.