Two Men Sentenced to Prison Terms For Broad Daylight Murder in Southeast Washington

            WASHINGTON- Markell Alston, 23, and Darryl Malloy, 21, both formerly of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to prison terms for the broad daylight slaying of a man in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Peter Newsham, Interim Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Both men pled guilty in June 2016, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second-degree murder while armed in the death of Kevin Owens. Each also pled guilty in separate cases to assault with a dangerous weapon. They were each sentenced by the Honorable Robert E. Morin to a total of 26 years in prison. Following their prison terms, each man will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            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.

            Alston’s sentence includes 26 years for the murder and three years for the assault, to run concurrently. Malloy’s sentence includes 23 years for the murder and three years for the assault he committed, to run consecutively.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Phillips and Interim Chief Newsham commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, which investigated the murder case. They 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. They 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, they 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.