District Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison For 2017 Slaying in Southwest Washington

            WASHINGTON – Martel Hall, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 12-year prison term on a charge stemming from the stabbing death of a man in Southwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.

            Hall pled guilty in April 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed.  The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentencing range of 10 ½ to 12 years in prison.  The Honorable Danya A. Dayson accepted the plea today and sentenced Hall to 12 years. Following his prison term, Hall will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on the night of Sept. 11, 2017, the victim, David Neal, and a relative went to the 7-Eleven in the 3900 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SW.  As Mr. Neal was waiting in line to purchase food, Hall came into the 7-Eleven and told Mr. Neal to come outside. Moments later, Mr. Neal walked out of the 7-Eleven and into the parking lot. Surveillance footage shows Hall follow Mr. Neal into the parking lot, where a physical altercation ensued.  Mr. Neal sustained wounds and lacerations to his head, body and hands.  These included two stab wounds to the chest, a stab wound stretching approximately five to six inches across Mr. Neal’s abdomen, a stab wound above his left eye, and a laceration in the inner left elbow.  There were defense wounds to his hands and an additional stab wound to the backside of Mr. Neal’s left shoulder.  Mr. Neal, 31, died from injuries that night.

            According to eyewitnesses, and corroborated by surveillance video, Mr. Neal and Hall  began tussling with one another in the 7-Eleven parking lot. During the struggle, Mr. Neal began gushing blood and collapsed.  Hall, who sustained a single cut to his face, then fled the scene, discarding a knife in the 7-Eleven parking lot.  As he was leaving the scene, Hall took off his shirt, which was covered in blood, and left it in the 7-Eleven parking lot. Hall was arrested on Sept. 27, 2017 and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Barker, who investigated and prosecuted the case.