Two Men Sentenced to Prison Terms For Fatal Shooting in Northeast Washington

            WASHINGTON –Marco F. Williams, 25, and Barry J. Giles, 22, also known as “Juany,” both of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to prison terms for the October 2016 shooting death of a man in the Fort Lincoln area of Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Williams pled guilty in October 2018 to voluntary manslaughter while armed.  Giles pled guilty at the same time to one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of carrying a pistol without a license. Both pleas took place in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The pleas, which were contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a prison sentence for Williams of 186 months, or 15 ½ years, and a prison sentence for Giles of 102 months, or 8 ½ years.  The Honorable Judith Bartnoff accepted the pleas and sentenced the men accordingly. Following their prison terms, the men will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            The evidence in support of the guilty pleas showed that on the night of Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, Williams and Giles were in the Fort Lincoln neighborhood, where each of them had ties.  Specifically, they were in the area of the 3100 block of Berry Road NE, where they spent time and drank alcohol with the victim, Timothy Lassiter, and others. 

            Both Williams and Giles had pistols. In the course of the evening, Williams and Giles resolved to shoot and kill Mr. Lassiter, 36. At 11:42 p.m., Williams, armed with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, fired four shots at Mr. Lassiter, striking him twice.  Four 9mm cartridge cases fired from the same gun were recovered in the area where Mr. Lassiter’s body was found by responding medics and police officers.

            The evidence established that after Mr. Lassiter was shot by Williams, Giles went through Mr. Lassiter’s pockets and removed items of personal property.

            Mr. Lassiter was transported by ambulance to a hospital and was pronounced dead early on Oct. 6, 2016. Following Mr. Lassiter’s funeral on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, Giles went on social media and posted a video of himself talking about the shooting of Mr. Lassiter. In the video, which was soon thereafter deleted, Giles boasted and bragged about his role in the shooting.

            Warrants for the arrest of the two defendants were issued on March 1, 2018.  Giles was arrested on March 5, 2018, and Williams, who was otherwise serving a sentence, was arrested on March 29, 2018.   Both have been held without bond since their arrests.

            In accepting the plea agreements and the agreed-upon sentences, the Court stated it would sentence Williams – the admitted shooter of Mr. Lassiter – to 186 months, or 15 ½ years in prison, and would sentence Giles – who went through Lassiter’s pockets in the aftermath of the shooting and removed items of personal property – to 102 months, or 8 ½ years in prison.  The Court did not issue a Judgment and Commitment Order today, as it wants time to consider and to be briefed on the ramifications of the recently enacted Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act of 2018.  Accordingly, the Court set a hearing for Jan. 15, 2019.  It is expected that on that date the Court will formally impose sentences in accord with the plea agreements that were reached.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division’s Homicide Branch, forensic scientists from the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, who processed the crime scene, and officers of MPD’s Fifth Police District, who responded to the shooting. They also expressed appreciation for those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Misler and Michael D. Brittin; Criminal Investigators Durand Odom and Mark Crawford; Paralegal Specialist Debra Joyner, and Investigative Analysts Shannon Alexis and Zachary McMenamin.