A man and woman facing murder charges stemming from a double homicide last week at a hotel in Prince George’s County, Maryland, were both ordered held without bond on Monday afternoon.
Prosecutors said that last Wednesday, three men used a key card left by the woman who paid for the room to storm a Super 8 hotel room located on Allentown Road near Joint Base Andrews armed with guns and wearing masks.
The key card had been left behind a tire of a Porsche parked in the parking lot. Only two of the men that stormed the room got out alive, with the third, 26-year-old Karon Moore, found shot to death inside the motel room. The apparent target, 23-year-old Xavier Matthews, was also shot and died within an hour of the shooting.
Hours later, court documents outlined that 24-year-old Keymonte Day of Northwest D.C. went to police and admitted she had coordinated the whole plot with the other suspects. She identified 22-year-old Christopher Jenkins of Capitol Heights as someone who had recently been staying with her and Moore, and claimed he was part of the shooting. Jenkins was still on probation for drugs and weapons charges at the time of the shooting and was ordered held without bond.
Day will also be held without bond despite having a clean record until this incident. A judge overseeing the bond review called it an “awful way to start your involvement in the criminal justice system.”
Prosecutors said she was the one who facilitated what Judge Brian Denton said “looks like a set up.”
The small courtroom where bond reviews are held was packed with friends and family of those involved, and there were eleven sheriff’s deputies on hand at one point in the afternoon to provide extra security. Deputies then required one side of the courtroom to remain seated while those who acknowledged being there on behalf of Day left first. A young boy started sobbing loudly as he walked down the hall of the courthouse.
“The allegations are that this was a setup,” admitted Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy, after the hearing. She wouldn’t get into the motive behind the shooting, but it appears this was another killing that involved local rappers on social media.
“We are very concerned, not only in this case but we have a few other cases where individuals involved were local artists, individuals who were engaged in what is known as drill rap,” Braveboy said.
“This form of rap really is a problem not only here but across the country … multiple violent incidents surrounding this form of rap,” she said. “We are also experiencing that level of violence here in Prince George’s County and around the DMV.”
She said that type of rap “not only celebrates violence, but also directs violence and talks about what has happened, not just in theory, but in practice.”
The third person captured leaving the motel on video remains on the loose, with authorities saying they’re still investigating everyone involved.
