Two Men Plead Guilty to Second-Degree Murder While Armed In Broad Daylight Shooting in Southeast Washington

            WASHINGTON – Markell Alston, 23, and Darryl Malloy, 21, both formerly of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to second-degree murder while armed in the broad daylight slaying of a man in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.

            Both men pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to the murder charge in the death of Kevin Owens. Each also pled guilty in separate cases to assault with a dangerous weapon. The Honorable Robert E. Morin scheduled sentencing for Sept. 23, 2016.

            According to the government’s evidence, Alston and Malloy were good friends who lived in the Woodland Terrace area of Southeast Washington. Mr. Owens, 22, was from the Congress Park area of Southeast Washington. In December 2014 and January 2015, Alston was angry that Mr. Owens had started dating the mother of two of Alston’s children.

            On Jan. 19, 2015, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at about 2 p.m., Mr. Owens parked his car in the 3400 block of 13^th Place SE, in the Congress Park area. While Mr. Owens was sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, Alston and Malloy approached the vehicle from behind. Both defendants were armed, and both fired multiple shots at Mr. Owens. They then ran away. Mr. Owens, who was struck by seven bullets, was found on the street near the driver’s side of his car.  The shooting was captured by a high-definition surveillance video camera installed in the area by the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In a separate case, Alston pled guilty to assaulting another inmate while he was in custody at the D.C. Jail in a noontime incident on Nov. 18, 2015. According to the government’s evidence, he and another inmate stabbed the victim with sharp objects. A corrections officer ran over and halted the attack. The victim was taken to a hospital and treated for 23 stab wounds, including on his head, neck, back, and arms.

            Malloy pled guilty to accosting a contractor who was installing safety lights on the afternoon of Sept. 15, 2014, on the roofs of buildings in the Woodland Terrace area. While the contractor was on a ladder, Malloy approached him, pulled a gun from his waistband, and yelled that he did not want the lights installed.

            In announcing the pleas, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, which investigated the murder case. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, the FBI, and Bode Cellmark Forensics. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Zekiah Wright, former Paralegal Specialist Karen Hansen, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Criminal Investigators John Marsh and Durand Odom, Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, Supervisor Security Specialist Michael Hailey, and Victim/Witness Security Specialists M. Laverne Forrest and Tanya Via.

            Finally, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natalia Medina, Jeffrey Nestler, Lindsey Merikas, and Dineen Baker, who investigated and secured indictments in the various cases.