Three Men Plead Guilty to Charges In 2015 Slaying of Man Near Shaw/Howard Metro Station

            WASHINGTON – Three men, all from Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to charges stemming from the August 2015 slaying of Matthew Shlonsky, an innocent bystander who was shot on a crowded street in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Andre Dudley, 22, Marcus King, 22, and Christopher Proctor, 28, pled guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. Dudley also pled guilty to a charge of attempted assault with a dangerous weapon stemming from a jailhouse stabbing. The pleas took place in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            Dudley’s plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for Dudley to be sentenced to an agreed-upon 18 ½-year prison term for the shooting and an additional 22 months for the jailhouse stabbing, for a total of 20 years and four months of incarceration. King’s plea calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 15 to 20 years, and Proctor’s plea calls for an agreed-upon term of 12 to 14 years. The Honorable Juliet McKenna scheduled sentencing for Aug. 13, 2018. All three defendants remain held pending the sentencing hearing.

            According to the government’s evidence, King and Proctor both associated with the Ninth Street neighborhood of Northwest Washington. On Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, at approximately 4:45 p.m., King and Proctor were standing near a liquor store at the intersection of Seventh and S Streets NW, both armed with firearms. Dudley, meanwhile, drove to the area of Seventh and S in a red Chrysler 300 sedan. While stopped at the intersection of 8^th and S Streets, Dudley got into an argument with Ninth Street crew members. One pulled out a gun, and Dudley pulled out his gun as well. King and Proctor were both nearby, and Proctor yelled out to other crew members to find out the identity of the person in the red car.

            Dudley then turned from Eighth Street onto S Street and headed east. He adjusted his position so that his head and arms were outside the sunroof. He then pointed his gun at individuals on the south side of S Street, near Seventh. King and Proctor both fired shots at Dudley as he crossed their path. King fired seven shots from a .40-caliber semiautomatic firearm and Proctor fired 10 shots from a different .40-caliber semiautomatic.  Dudley extended his arm out and fired several shots in the direction of King and Proctor.

            Mr. Shlonsky, 23, had just gotten out of an Uber with friends and was heading to a concert at the Howard Theatre. He was walking in the 1800 block of Seventh Street NW, near the entrance to the Shaw/Howard Metro station, when one of the bullets from the shootout struck him in the chest. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

            While King and Proctor were firing their weapons, a couple was walking on the sidewalk of the 700 block of S Street NW. The man and woman were each pushing strollers that had two young children inside each of them. Hearing the gunshots, the couple sprinted away; however, their proximity to the gunfire put them in the zone of harm.

            While Dudley drove east on S Street NW, his vehicle came head-to-head with a vehicle turning left on S Street NW, from Sixth Street, NW.  Blocked, Dudley again lifted his head and arms out of the sunroof, pointed a gun at the driver, threatened to kill him, and yelled at him to move his car.  Scared, the driver moved his vehicle and Dudley then continued across S Street; as he sped into the 1900 block of Fourth Street NW, another man yelled at Dudley to slow down.  In response, Dudley slammed on the brakes, rolled down his window, pointed an imitation firearm at the man, which the man believed was an actual firearm, and fired shots in the general vicinity of the man. Dudley then left the area. Dudley pled guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for these crimes.

            As part of the plea agreement, Dudley admitted to his role in the May 17, 2018 stabbing of a fellow inmate at the District of Columbia Jail.  The victim of that incident sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

             In announcing the pleas, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the FBI, including the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team, and the 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. Attorneys Sharon Donovan, Kimberley Nielsen, Laura Bach, and Jeffrey Nestler; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton; Paralegal Specialists Lornce Applewhite and Sharon Newman; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney David Misler, who investigated and prosecuted the case.