WASHINGTON – Carlo General 21, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to a charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed in the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old boy on July 4, 2020, in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
General entered the guilty plea in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Consistent with the Court’s voluntary sentencing guidelines, General’s plea calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 13 to 16 years in prison. The plea is contingent upon the Court’s approval. The Honorable Rainey R. Brandt scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 3, 2022.
Three co-defendants — Daryle Bond, 20, Marcel Gordon, 26, and Christen Wingfield, 24 – pleaded guilty earlier this month to the same charge. They also are scheduled to be sentenced on June 3, 2022. Bond’s plea calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 7 ½-to-9 ½- years in prison, Gordon’s calls for 10 years, and Wingfield’s calls for a 9 ½-year prison term.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 4, 2020, at approximately 9:15 p.m., General, Bond, Gordon, and Wingfield were congregating at a barbeque near the cul-de-sac in front of an apartment building located in the 1400 block of Cedar Street SE. Cedar Street is a long road that ends in a cul-de-sac. The entrance of the 1400 block of Cedar Street intersects diagonally with a street that is known as the “alley.”
Near the entrance of the 1400 block of Cedar Street, Davon McNeal – 11 years old – was exiting a vehicle and walking towards a basement apartment in the Frederick Douglass Garden Apartment Complex. At a certain point, General, armed with a firearm with a laser sight, started running towards the entrance of the 1400 block of Cedar Street and fired his weapon towards the alley. Surveillance footage shows Davon running towards the basement apartment and falling after General fired his weapon.
Approximately six seconds later, Gordon, while running behind General, fired his weapon in the same direction. Bond, also armed with a firearm, ran towards the entrance of the 1400 block on a sidewalk on the side of the apartment building, along with Wingfield, who was armed with a firearm as well and running on the road.
All four defendants gathered in front of the apartment building and looked down the alley. The group subsequently ran in the direction of a playground with guns drawn. Bond, General and Gordon all fired their firearms as they were running away.
An autopsy concluded that Davon’s death was caused by a gunshot wound to the head.
General was arrested on July 30, 2020. Bond was arrested on July 10, 2020. Wingfield was arrested on July 11, 2020. Gordon was arrested on Sept. 1, 2020. All have been in custody since their arrests.
In announcing today’s plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch of the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Lashone Samuels, former Victim/ Witness Specialist Marcia Rinker, Victim/ Witness Specialist Latrice Washington-Williams, and Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin.
Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shehzad Akhtar, Stephen Rickard, and Jack Korba, who investigated and prosecuted the case, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Maryam Adeyola, who provided valuable assistance.