⏱ 3 min read
It was a bloody February night in Washington DC when Syed Hussain, a 40-year-old man, was brutally beaten and strangled to death. His body was discovered by D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Service (FEMS) members at 3:33 a.m. on February 11, 2026, in his apartment at 1437 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.
According to the arrest warrants, Rico Barnes, 36, and Alphonso Walker, 39, both from the District, were seen physically attacking Hussain outside his apartment building earlier that night, around 1:40 a.m. Security camera footage shows the defendants following Hussain as he enters the building, and then leaving an hour later with large bags.
MPD detectives recovered numerous items belonging to Hussain at a residence in a different neighborhood on February 14, 2026. An autopsy later determined that the manner of Hussain’s death was a homicide, caused by blunt force trauma and ligature strangulation.
Barnes and Walker were charged with first-degree murder while armed in D.C. Superior Court on April 2, 2026. Rico Barnes’ preliminary hearing is set for May 18, 2026, and Alphonso Walker’s hearing is set for June 2, 2026.
Related Federal Cases
- Gary Joseph Gravelle, Stolen Heat, Washington 2023 · Washington
- Patrick E. McCaughey III, Capitol Breach, Washington DC, 2021 · Washington
- Anthony Hamel, Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material, Quebec, 2024 · Washington
- Joseph Jennings Jr, Armed Second-Degree Murder, DC 2023 · Washington
- Jasper Spires, Stabbing Murder, DC 2015 · Washington
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Violent CrimeViolent CrimeViolent CrimeViolent Crime