Washington, D.C. – A 19-year-old District man, Donte Rogers, has pled guilty to one count of Voluntary Manslaughter while Armed in connection with the March 29, 2008, shooting death of his acquaintance, Emidore Sinclair Nkol, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Rogers pled guilty on October 1, 2008, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and will be sentenced on December 12, 2008, by the Honorable Frederick H. Weisberg. Rogers faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years of incarceration.

At the plea hearing, Rogers admitted that sometime before the time of the shooting, he and the decedent engaged in numerous altercations. One of the arguments was over the fact that Rogers owed the decedent $50.00. At the end of one of the arguments, the decedent spit in Rogers’ face and pulled out a gun. The decedent not only threatened to kill him, but also his mother and grandmother. During the evening of March 28, 2008, the defendant, along with three others drove to the area of the 1200 block of Kennedy St., NW, where he and one of the other individuals got out of the car with guns. Shortly after midnight on March 29, 2008, the defendant shot the decedent once in the neck and once in the leg before fleeing. The decedent died as a result of the two gunshot wounds.

Two of the remaining three defendant have previously pled guilty. The remaining defendant is currently incarcerated in Maryland and is scheduled to be returned to the District of Columbia in the coming weeks for prosecution.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended the work of Detectives Thomas Webb, Konstantinos Giannakoulias, Robert Cephas, Anthony Green and Joshua Branson of the Violent Crime Branch. He also commended Paralegal Specialist Marian Russell, Legal Assistant Doloris Young, and Victim Witness Advocate Marcey Rinker. Finally, he commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Cobb, who investigated and prosecuted the case.