District Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder Charge

            WASHINGTON – Dearay Wilson, 30, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to second-degree murder while armed for his role in the shooting death of 50-year-old D.C. resident Jeremy Black on the evening of June 29, 2021, in Northwest D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. 

            Wilson entered a guilty plea before Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz, on February 13, 2026. Judge Kravitz ordered that Wilson remain held without bond pending sentencing. Wilson will next appear before Judge Kravitz for sentencing on April 10, 2026.

            According to court documents, Wilson and three others armed themselves with firearms before driving a vehicle to Johnson Avenue Northwest. Once in the area, they fired multiple shots at a group of people outside an apartment building in the 1400 block of R Street Northwest. Black, the victim, was an innocent bystander walking through the area with his wife and two friends following dinner at a local restaurant. Black and a friend were crossing Johnson Avenue when Wilson and his co-conspirators indiscriminately fired over 45 rounds on a busy public street. Black was struck and killed by a single gunshot wound to his left torso. After the shooting, Wilson and his co-conspirators fled the scene in the stolen vehicle.

            Joining the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Merikas, Kathleen Gibbons, and Sarah Santiago. The case was indicted by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sitara Witanachchi.

2021 CF1 006737