Three men have pleaded not guilty for the murder of a man at an apartment in Southwest D.C. near the Wharf. Court documents describe Tuesday’s incident as a botched robbery where four others were shot and another person was injured.
Keshawn Lavender, 22, Deandre Sams, 27, and Raymond Mathis, 36, all from Southeast D.C., pleaded not guilty this week and are in jail without bond. They are accused of killing 32-year-old Matthew Miller at the Valo apartments on M Street SW on Sept. 5.
According to court documents, when officers arrived to the scene, they found one victim on the ground. Witnesses said he had fallen from he side of the building and sustained facial injuries.
A trail of blood was found leading into the lobby and they found another victim who had been shot multiple times.
The victim told officers, “they tried to rob me.” Officers observed a handgun with an extended magazine with the victim.
The victim told officers that three or four men dressed in black rushed into their apartments with “Glocks.” The victim said they were able to get a gun somehow from the attackers and fired back.
Officers found bullet holes, spent 9 mm and .45 casings and blood splatter in the fifth floor apartment. That is also where they found Miller shot and killed, police said.
They also found larges amounts of cash and “large, clear plastic bag containing a weed-like substance.”
Several witnesses saw men dressed in black flee the scene and hop into a car. Several cameras also captured the suspects’ escape. Lavender, Sams and Mathis were found at a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. They were arrested there, police said.
Four guns were recovered from the scene.
All three suspects’ next court dates are scheduled for Sept. 27.
