Matthew M. Graves U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
Darius Anderson, a 23-year-old resident of Washington, DC, has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for the first-degree murder of Israel Mattocks. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The crime took place in June 2022.
Anderson was convicted by a jury on September 18, 2024, after a week-long trial at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Judge Marisa Demeo delivered the sentence. The incident occurred on Minnesota Avenue NE.
The prosecution presented evidence that on June 15, 2022, at around 11:00 a.m., Mattocks approached Anderson for assistance in purchasing shoes from Shoe City at East River Park Shopping Mall. After failing to secure the shoes for Mattocks, they parted ways but later encountered each other again at DownTown Locker Room, another local shoe store. Following an argument there, Mattocks left with another person to return to Shoe City.
Anderson returned home briefly before going back to Shoe City. When Mattocks exited the store with his companion, Anderson fired multiple shots at him outside the entrance. Mattocks sustained injuries to both arms, his right chest, and neck and was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith acknowledged the efforts of MPD investigators and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ariel Dean and Stephanie Dinan in bringing this case to a conclusion.
