WASHINGTON - A 21-year-old District of Columbia man, Nathaniel Waldron, pleaded guilty today to first degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence in connection with the July 2006 shooting deaths of 20-year-old Davion Holt and 16-year-old Michael Lucas in Southwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced. The plea agreement, which was provisionally accepted by Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz, calls for the defendant to serve 32 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 13, 2009, if the agreement is ultimately accepted by the Court.

According to the government proffer of evidence, on July 2, 2006, Mr. Holt and Mr. Lucas were socializing with a small group behind a house in the 200 block of L Street, SW (PSA 104). Mr. Holt and Mr. Lucas were unarmed. At approximately 4:15 a.m., Waldron and another individual walked past Mr. Holt and Mr. Lucas. Mr. Holt then left the group and walked toward the sidewalk on L Street. Mr. Lucas followed Mr. Holt toward the sidewalk. Witnesses observed Mr. Holt talking to Waldron and then saw Waldron begin to fire a handgun at Mr. Holt. Mr. Holt was shot a total of five times, including three times in the back as he turned to avoid the gunfire. Mr. Lucas was shot once in the back of the thigh as he ran from the scene. Mr. Holt died that same morning and Mr. Lucas died five days later at the hospital, both as a result of their gunshot wounds.

Metropolitan Police Department officers and detectives conducted an exhaustive investigation to identify the shooter. Within a few weeks of the shooting, police officers recovered a .45 caliber semi automatic pistol that an MPD firearms expert connected to the shooting. Police detectives were also able to locate eyewitnesses who identified Waldron as the person they saw point the gun at Mr. Holt and Mr. Lucas.

 In announcing today's guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised the efforts of Metropolitan Police Department officers and officials, including Lieutenant Ozetta Posey and Sergeant Robert Alder, the lead detectives on the case; Mobil Crime Officer Leother Strong, Sergeant Jose Cidre and Officer Robert Elliot; and former MPD firearms examiner Michael Muldarig. U.S. Attorney Taylor also commended the work of D.C. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Marie Pierre-Louis and Medical Examiner Lois Goslonoski. Lastly, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended the work of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit, including Chief Benjamin Friedman, Yvonne Bryant, Katina Adams, and Michael Hailey, the Litigation Technology Support Unit, including Ron Royal and Joe Calvarese, Paralegal Supervisor Anne Riopelle, Paralegal Specialists Diane Hayes and Phil Aronson, Legal Assistants April Peeler, Lisa Robinson, and Jamasee Lucas, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Haray who indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael K. Atkinson and Steven J. Durham, who prepared the case for trial and took the guilty plea.