Nineteen Shots Fired at Victim and His Friends
WASHINGTON - Dwayne Hilton, 25, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty of first-degree murder while armed and other charges for the 2011 slaying of a man in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today.
Hilton was found guilty on Sept, 21, 2016 of the murder charge, three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and related firearms offenses. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He is to be sentenced on Dec. 9, 2016, by the Honorable José M. Lopez. Hilton faces a potential sentence of life in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 26, 2011, at approximately 12:35 a.m., Hilton and an unknown accomplice followed the victim, 18-year-old Mico Briscoe, and his friends for approximately two blocks, as they walked to the Circle 7 convenience store in the 1200 block of Mount Olivet Road NE. Hilton and the accomplice ran up behind Mr. Briscoe and his friends. As Mr. Briscoe and three friends approached the front door of the Circle 7, they were shot approximately 19 times from behind. Mr. Briscoe was shot once directly in the back, and once from a ricochet in the clavicle. He died several hours later. One of his friends was shot in the elbow, and survived. The remaining two friends suffered graze wounds.
This shooting is believed to have arisen from an old rivalry between two neighborhood groups in the Trinidad and E Street/Rosedale areas. Hilton was arrested on Feb. 11, 2013, and has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. He acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Chrisellen Kolb; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, and Paralegal Specialists Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie, Sandra Lane, and Zekiah Wright. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton, who investigated the case and secured the defendant’s indictment, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon Donovan and Alicia Long, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
