District Man Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter Charge In Northeast Washington Shooting-Defendant Shot Victim During Argument In Edgewood Terrace Area -

     WASHINGTON – Decordre Franklin, 25, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a charge stemming from a fatal shooting that took place earlier this year in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Franklin pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to voluntary manslaughter while armed in the slaying of Irving Jones. He is to be sentenced on Sept. 13, 2013 by the Honorable John Ramsey Johnson.

     According to the government’s evidence, in the early morning of March 30, 2013, Franklin was seen in a yard at Edgewood Terrace, within the 600 block of Edgewood Street NE, carrying and playing with a handgun.  Afterward, Franklin and Mr. Jones, 33, hung out together with others in the same vicinity.  During that time, Mr. Jones and Franklin engaged in a brief physical altercation, which has been described by some witnesses as horseplay.  After the altercation ended at approximately 2:10 a.m., Franklin then argued verbally with Mr. Jones.

     While yelling at Mr. Jones, Franklin pulled out a handgun and shot him in the chest at close range.  He then fled.  Mr. Jones collapsed to the ground and died shortly afterward.

     In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division, crime scene officers, and the Fifth Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department.  He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim Witness Program Specialist Marcia Rinker and Paralegal Specialist Marian Russell.  He also praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana L. Fulton, who prosecuted the case.