Maurice Bellamy, 19, of Washington, D.C., is headed for a life behind bars after a jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder while armed in the killings of a U.S. Secret Service officer and a 15-year-old boy. The verdict, delivered in Superior Court, marks the end of a harrowing case that exposed the brutal randomness of street violence in the nation’s capital.
The first murder occurred on December 15, 2015, in the 4700 block of First Street SW. Bellamy and two accomplices approached a parked car and demanded the driver, off-duty officer Arthur Earl Baldwin Jr., open the trunk. When nothing of value was found, Baldwin tried to escape. Bellamy, armed with a .38-caliber revolver, opened fire. An accomplice joined in. They stole Baldwin’s wallet, cell phone, and iPad. Baldwin, 30, died from multiple gunshot wounds at a hospital.
Four months later, Bellamy struck again—this time at the Deanwood Metro station in the 4700 block of Minnesota Avenue NE. On March 26, 2016, just before 4 p.m., he spotted 15-year-old Davonte Washington with his mother and two younger sisters waiting for a train. The family was on their way to get Davonte’s Easter haircut. Convinced, without cause, that Davonte was mocking him, Bellamy pulled out the same .38-caliber revolver and shot the teen at close range. Davonte died from two gunshot wounds to the torso.
Surveillance video from the Metro station captured the cold-blooded killing in chilling detail. Investigators linked the same firearm to both murders, sealing Bellamy’s fate. He was arrested two days after Davonte’s murder and has remained in custody since.
The jury found the murder of Davonte Washington especially cruel, atrocious, and heinous. They also determined that Baldwin’s murder occurred during the commission of a robbery, exposing Bellamy to life in prison without parole for each count. He was also convicted of armed robbery and a weapons offense. Sentencing is scheduled for July 20, 2018, before the Honorable Juliet McKenna.
U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, MPD Chief Peter Newsham, and Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik praised the investigators and prosecutors who brought the case to justice. They singled out Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deborah Sines and Glenn Kirschner, along with forensic, technical, and victim-witness teams from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, whose relentless work ensured Bellamy would not walk free.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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