WASHINGTON – Marcha Johnson, 43, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 15-year prison term for killing a man last fall in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Johnson pleaded guilty in January 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert Okun. Following completion of his prison term, Johnson will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in the early evening hours of Oct. 6, 2021, Johnson was in the Unit block of O Street NW, having parked his car in front of a seniors’ apartment building. Just before 8 p.m., the victim, Rufus Davis III, 20, rode up to the area on a scooter and started speaking with Johnson and others. Mr. Davis was scolded by Johnson, who got in Mr. Davis’s face and spoke to him in an animated manner. The two men continued to speak for several minutes until they again came close to each other near Johnson’s car. As Mr. Davis approached Johnson and the others, Johnson pulled a gun, just inches in front of Mr. Davis’s face, and fired one shot. Johnson fired two more shots at Mr. Davis’s back as Mr. Davis tried to move away from Johnson. Then, as Mr. Davis laid on the ground, Johnson stood over him and fired the final two bullets in his revolver into Mr. Davis’s head from just inches above Mr. Davis.
Johnson was arrested on Oct.13, 2021. He has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Meridith McGarrity and Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Giovannelli and Jeffrey Wojcik, who prosecuted the case.