District Man Sentenced To Nine Years In Prison For Fatal Stabbing In Northwest WashingtonDefendant Started Argument, Leading To Altercation

     WASHINGTON - Jonathan Dawkins, 32, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to nine years in prison for the fatal stabbing of a man in May 2012 in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Dawkins was found guilty in May 2014 by a jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of voluntary manslaughter while armed. He was sentenced by the Honorable Russell F. Canan. Following his prison term, Dawkins will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, on May 1, 2012, at about 2:15 a.m., the victim, Dwayne Brisbon, 33, was stabbed to death in the 400 block of Florida Avenue NW.  Mr. Brisbon, a CT scan technician at Washington Hospital Center, was on his way home from Marvin, a bar and restaurant in the 2000 block of 14th Street NW. On his way home, Mr. Brisbon pulled his car over to check on a person he recognized from the establishment.

     Dawkins, who was walking with the person, became upset and aggressively approached Mr. Brisbon’s car.  Dawkins began arguing with Mr. Brisbon.  Mr. Brisbon eventually got out of his car and walked to the rear of the car, where Dawkins met him.  Mr. Brisbon punched Dawkins, and the two continued to fight.  During the fight, Dawkins stabbed Mr. Brisbon in the upper left bicep and the neck, piercing his carotid artery and jugular vein. 

     Dawkins then fled the scene while Mr. Brisbon got back in his car in an attempt to drive himself to the hospital.  Mr. Brisbon lost consciousness within seconds, and crashed into Shaw’s Tavern in the 500 block of Florida Avenue NW.  Surveillance video from Shaw’s Tavern captured the defendant and the person who was with him just minutes before the murder. 

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of members of the Metropolitan Police Department, who investigated the case.  U.S. Attorney Machen also thanked those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Mia Beamon and Kelly Blakeney; Victim/Witness Services Coordinators La June Thames and Katina Adams-Washington; Litigation Support Specialist Kimberly Smith; Criminal Investigator Durand Odom; and Victim Witness Specialist Tamara Ince.   Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Sanchez and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Holly Shick, who prosecuted the case.