The First 13 Murders of 2011
Maryland Newsline
Friday, April 29, 2011
In the first 13 days of the new year, 12 men and one woman were murdered in Prince George's County. The oldest was 58, the youngest 19. Eight were shot, three were stabbed. Cause of death for two hadn't been released.
Summaries of each follow.
Ansel Donovan Whitelocke
Ansel Donovan Whitelocke, 58, of Chillum, was the first murder victim of the year in Prince George’s County.
On Jan. 1, 2011, at about10:24 a.m., Prince George’s County Police responded to a call from an apartment in the 5700 block of Cypress Creek in Hyattsville.
Police found Whitelocke in the living room. He was pronounced dead on the scene, according to the police report. An autopsy determined the cause of death was multiple stab wounds.
Whitelocke was robbed of $500, his wallet, a cell phone and a necklace, police reported.
Police said Whitelocke’s wife attempted to contact him a number of times on New Year’s Eve. She was in Jamaica, her home country. At one point his wife became concerned and called a neighbor in the apartment complex.
The neighbor went to the apartment and found the door unlocked. He found the victim in the living room and called police.
The apartment was ransacked as if someone was looking for something, police reported. The victim had multiple stab wounds, and there was a large amount of blood in the floor.
Police said several witnesses stated that Demarko Williams, 23, David Wright, 28, and Verlyncia Coleman, 21, all of Hyattsville, had planned to rob Whitelocke on New Year’s Eve. Police said Coleman knew Whitelocke.
Williams gave details about the murder to investigators and confessed his role in the robbery and murder of Whitelocke, police reported. Police found bloody clothing after a search in Coleman and Wright’s apartment. A witness led police to a wooded area where two knives and burned clothing were recovered, according to the police report.
The trio was charged with first-degree murder, among other charges.
Clifton Antion Turner
Clifton Antion Turner, 42, of Laurel, Md., was killed in Suitland Jan. 4.
At about 12:43 a.m., police reported they found Turner shot dead in the parking lot of the Upscale Ballroom in 3900 block of Bexley Place.
According to an obituary published online by Tributes.com, Turner is survived by his wife, Angelicque Turner, four sons and two daughters. Angelicque Turner could not be reached.
In 1993, Turner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, court documents show. He served more than 10 years of that sentence, but was released in 2003 in return for becoming a state’s witness in another case, court documents said.
Records indicate Turner struggled to stay out of trouble; he pleaded guilty to possession with an intent to distribute marijuana in 2006.
Mark Andrew Davis Jr.
Mark Andrew Davis Jr., 28, was killed Jan. 4 in Oxon Hill, police said.
Davis, of the 1700 block of Addison Road South in District Heights, Md., was found dead inside a home in the 7200 block of Crafford Place around 2:20 a.m.
Police said Davis’ killing was related to the death of Larry Junior Watkins, who lived in the house on Crafford Place. Watkins’ body was found on the side of the road.
Larry Junior Watkins
Larry Junior Watkins, 38, of Oxon Hill, was killed the morning of Jan. 4. in a shooting that police say was connected to the slaying of Mark Andrew Davis Jr., 28, which occurred earlier the same day.
A driver traveling along the 2200 block of Crafford Place saw Watkins’ body on the side of the road at 7:25 a.m. and called Prince George’s County Police, a police spokesman said.
Watkins lived at a house in the 7200 block of Crafford Place, where Davis was found dead earlier in the morning, police said.
Michael Layne
On Jan. 4 at about 11:43 p.m., police responded to the 4000 block of Norcross Street for a report of a shooting. Officers responding discovered Michael DeAngelo Layne, 19, of the 3900 block of Triton Court in Temple Hills, Md., suffering from a gunshot wound.
He was pronounced dead on the scene, a Prince George's County Police press release said.
Full Story: Slain Temple Hills Teen Was in the 'Wrong Place at the Wrong Time'
Terrance Calvin Hunter
Terrance Calvin Hunter, 30, was found dead of a gunshot wound Jan. 5 at about 9 p.m. in a stairwell of an apartment complex in the 1300 block of Southview Drive in Oxon Hill.
Police have made two arrests in Hunter’s slaying. Vincent Eugene Miles, 29, and Neil Elmore Lawrence, 31, were charged with first-degree murder Jan. 11.
According to court documents, Lawrence and Miles planned to rob Hunter during a drug transaction in the stairwell Hunter was found in. The robbery ended with Hunter being shot.
Charging documents say Lawrence was brought in for questioning Jan. 6 and told police he and Hunter were selling marijuana to Miles in the stairwell of the building where Hunter was found.
But after police located Miles at his home in 1500 block of Chillum Road in Hyattsville, Miles said it was Lawrence who set up the drug deal and planned the robbery. When questioned again, Lawrence confessed his involvement in the robbery and murder.
Maurice Valentine
Maurice Valentine, 26, was shot and killed Jan. 6 in the 900 block of Central Hill Lane in Hyattsville.
Police found Valentine shot inside a gray Pontiac Bonneville, according to court documents. He was taken to Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, Md., where he was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m.
Prince George’s County Police charged James Edward Taylor with first-degree murder.
Police found Edwards running away from the crime scene on Hill road, court documents said. When police caught up to Edwards, they took from him a black semi-automatic handgun that was disassembled with a loaded magazine, documents said. Police said that Edwards had stolen Valentine’s cell phone, documents said.
During questioning, Edwards admitted his involvement in Valentine’s murder, court documents said.
Alitha Mae Jenkins
On Jan. 7 at about 8:09 a.m., police responded to the 1700 block of Olive Street after receiving a call to check on the welfare of an unconscious female at that location.
Officers found Alitha Mae Jenkins, 51, of the 2400 block of Kent Village Place in Landover, Md., in a grassy area along the roadside. There were no visible signs of trauma to her body, a Prince George's County Police press release said. Investigators didn’t release the exact cause of death.
Full Story: Landover Woman's Murder Haunts Brother
Alejandro Marcos Diaz-Vasquez
Alejandro Marcos Diaz-Vasquez was killed Jan. 8 in Langley Park.
At about 8 a.m., Prince George’s County Police Officers and paramedics responded to a stabbing in the 1400 block of University Boulevard. They found Diaz-Vasquez, 30, of Langley Park, lying on the ground suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to a police report.
He was transported to Washington Adventist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
On Jan. 24 police interrogated a 16-year-old from Langley Park as a person of interest in the case. Police said he admitted to stabbing the victim and said that Diaz-Vasquez was unarmed.
The suspect said that after initially stabbing Diaz-Vasquez, he chased the victim on foot and stabbed him several more times, police reported. The teen was charged with first- and second-degree murder.
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| Corteza Warren Livingston (Courtesy of Victoria Warren) |
Corteza Warren Livingston
Corteza Warren Livingston, 21, of Forestville, was shot during a domestic argument that escalated, police said.
On Jan. 8, at about 9:09 p.m., Corteza Livingston’s brother, Demicio Livingston, got into an argument with his child’s mother in Forestville, police reported.
The woman arrived to drop off her child, accompanied by three men, police reported. When Demicio Livingston came to the front door to take custody of the child, he “became involved in an argument and physical altercation” with his ex-girlfriend, according to the police report. During the fight, the three men exited the car and joined the fight. Corteza Livingston, who was sitting in a nearby-parked vehicle, came to his brother’s aid, police reported.
One of the men shot Corteza Livingston and his brother with a shotgun, police said. When police arrived, they found Corteza Livingston unconscious on the sidewalk in front of the townhouse. He was transported to Southern Maryland Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
His brother, Demicio Livingston, was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the right leg, police reported.
The woman and another witness identified Donte Dominique Douglass, 18, of Capitol Heights, as the shooter, police said. He has been charged with second-degree murder for Corteza Livingston’s death and eight other criminal counts, including assault and reckless endangerment.
Corteza Livingston died less than two weeks short of his 22nd birthday.
Victoria Warren, 21, of Upper Marlboro, who had been friends with Corteza Livingston since attending James Madison Middle school with him in Upper Marlboro, said he was "a really cool person.”
She added: “(He) was a big brother to everybody. He accepted you as a friend for what you were.”
Juan Moreno Aguilar
Juan Moreno Aguilar, 25, of Langley Park, was killed Jan. 10.
At about 6:15 p.m. police responded to the 2400 block of University Boulevard following a report of a stabbing. They found Aguilar, of the 8100 block of 15th Avenue, suffering from a stab wound, police said.
He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
A 24-year-old man was also injured and was transported to an area hospital.
Police are investigating the possibility that this incident was gang-related, they said.
Justin DeSha-Overcash
On Jan. 11 at about 11:27 a.m., police responded to the 8800 block of 38th Avenue for a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they discovered Justin Vance Desha-Overcash, 22, of the 8800 block of 38th Avenue in College Park, suffering from gunshot wounds.
The University of Maryland senior was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, a Prince George's County Police press release said.
Full Story: College Student's Murder Leaves Parents Struggling
Clyde Antwone Roosevelt Howard
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| The house where Clyde Antwone Roosevelt Howard was found dead of a shotgun wound. (Photo by Maryland Newsline's Alexander Pyles) |
The only homicide among the county’s first 13 that was ruled by police as self-defense occurred Jan. 11.
Police said they responded to a house in the 7400 block of Riverdale Road in New Carrollton for a call about a breaking and entering.
They found Clyde Antwone Roosevelt Howard, 30, of New Carrollton, on the front porch suffering from a shotgun wound.
According to the police report, a police officer went to the rear of the house where he met a man and a woman, who said they saw Howard break the window on the front door and reach in the house trying to get inside. Both of them began yelling for help when a third person, the couple’s 27-year-old son, came downstairs from his room and acted in self defense, shooting Howard.
Howard was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.
A man who later answered the door at the New Carrollton home declined to comment on the incident.