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Press Release

Maryland Man and District Woman Plead Guilty to Charges in Fatal Shooting and Resulting Witness Tampering

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia
Violence Took Place at Northwest Washington Apartment Building

            WASHINGTON – Antonio Brown, 30, of Suitland, Md., and Amanda Turner, 41, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to their conduct in the fatal shooting of a man outside an apartment building in Northwest Washington in September 2015, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Brown pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges of second-degree murder and carrying a pistol without a license. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon 19 ½-year prison term. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck set a hearing for Jan. 2, 2019 to determine whether to accept the plea and agreed-upon sentence.

            Turner pled guilty to one count of felony threats and two counts of attempted obstruction of justice.  Her sentencing is set before Judge Beck on March 8, 2019.

            According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, the shooting took place at approximately 7:44 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2015 in the rear of an apartment building in the 1800 block of Harvard Street NW. Brown was sitting in a Dodge Charger in the parking lot.  He left that vehicle and went over to the victim, Charles Welch, who was also present in the parking lot. 

            Brown shot Mr. Welch once in the chest before returning to his vehicle and driving away.  Mr. Welch managed to get in his vehicle and drive approximately one block before he lost consciousness, crashing into a wall on Irving Street NW.  Mr. Welch, 25, was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where all life-saving efforts failed.

            In the weeks after the murder, Turner sent a series of threatening text messages to one witness, and made a threatening telephone call to another witness, all for the purpose of preventing them from truthfully cooperating with the investigation.

            Brown was arrested on September 29, 2015 and has been in custody ever since. Turner was arrested on Dec. 16, 2015.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Housing Authority Police and District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Silvia Gonzalez Roman, Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, Victim/Witness Security Specialist Lesley Slade, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Paralegal Specialist Lashone Samuels, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Spence and Christine Macey, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

 

Updated December 12, 2018

Topic
Violent Crime
Press Release Number: 18-341