A man was gunned down in cold blood on a public trail in Southeast Washington in 2017, executed from behind as he walked his two puppies in the early morning light. Wandell G. Roy, 42, of Washington, D.C., has now been sentenced to 27 years in prison for the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Victor Williams on the Anacostia River Trail, a crime that shocked the local community and exposed the brutal randomness of street violence.
Roy pled guilty in November 2017 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to second degree murder. He was sentenced by the Honorable Judith Bartnoff. Upon completion of his prison term, Roy will face an additional five years of supervised release. No motive was established, and investigators confirmed there was no connection between Roy and Williams—a chilling detail underscoring the senselessness of the act.
According to evidence presented by the government, on July 26, 2017, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Victor Williams was walking south on the trail from the East Capitol Bridge with his two puppies. Roy, riding a red bike, followed at a distance. He abandoned the bike, crept within 20 feet of Williams, and opened fire—shooting him at least four times. As Williams lay motionless on the ground, Roy approached and fired at least two more rounds into his body at close range. He then stole Williams’s iPhone 7 and fled.
The autopsy revealed Williams died from a gunshot wound to the midline of his back and another to the left side of his face. One of the puppies was killed by a gunshot to the chest; the other was found alive at the scene. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded quickly, securing evidence and launching a citywide manhunt that led to Roy’s arrest on August 17, 2017. He has remained in custody since.
The investigation was driven by eyewitness accounts and the relentless work of MPD’s Homicide Branch. Detectives pieced together surveillance footage, ballistics data, and field interviews to identify Roy as the shooter. The Firearms Examination Unit of the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences played a key role in linking forensic evidence to the crime. Authorities found no prior link between the victim and defendant.
U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and MPD Chief Peter Newsham praised the investigative team and acknowledged the efforts of Victim/Witness Advocate Diana Lim, Paralegal Specialist Debra Joyner, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jin Park, who prosecuted the case. ‘This was a brazen, execution-style murder in broad daylight,’ said Liu. ‘Justice for Victor Williams has been served—but his loss remains a wound in this community.’
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Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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