Innocent Bystander Slain in Exchange of Gunfire In the
Middle of a Summer Afternoon
WASHINGTON
– Andre Dudley, 22, Marcus King, 22, and Christopher Proctor, 28, all of
Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to prison terms on charges stemming from
the August 2015 slaying of Matthew Shlonsky, an innocent bystander who was shot
three years ago on a crowded street in Northwest Washington. Dudley was
sentenced to an 18 ½-year prison term for the murder, King was sentenced to 17
½ years, and Proctor was sentenced to 14 years.
The
announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief
of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The three
defendants pled guilty in June 2018 to one count of voluntary manslaughter
while armed and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. Dudley also pled
guilty to a charge of attempted assault with a dangerous weapon stemming from a
jailhouse stabbing. The pleas took place in the Superior Court of the District
of Columbia.
Dudley’s
plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for him to be
sentenced to an agreed-upon 18 ½-year prison term for the shooting and an
additional 22 months for the jailhouse stabbing, for a total of 20 years and
four months of incarceration. King’s plea called for an agreed-upon sentence of
15 to 20 years, and Proctor’s plea called for an agreed-upon term of 12 to 14
years. The Honorable Juliet McKenna accepted the pleas and sentenced the
defendants accordingly. Following their prison terms, the defendants will each
be placed on five years of supervised release.
According
to the government’s evidence, King and Proctor both associated with the Ninth
Street neighborhood of Northwest Washington. On Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, at
approximately 4:45 p.m., King and Proctor were standing near a liquor store at
the intersection of Seventh and S Streets NW, both armed with firearms. Dudley,
meanwhile, drove to the area of Seventh and S in a red Chrysler 300 sedan.
While stopped at the intersection of 8th and S Streets, Dudley got into an
argument with Ninth Street crew members. One pulled out a gun, and Dudley
pulled out his gun as well. King and Proctor were both nearby, and Proctor
yelled out to other crew members to find out the identity of the person in the
red car.
Dudley
then turned from Eight Street onto S Street and headed east. He adjusted his
position so that his head and arms were outside the sunroof. He then pointed
his gun at individuals on the south side of S Street, near Seventh. King and
Proctor both fired shots at Dudley as he crossed their path. King fired seven
shots from a .40-caliber semiautomatic firearm and Proctor fired 10 shots from
a different .40-caliber semiautomatic.
Dudley extended his arm out and fired several shots in the direction of
King and Proctor.
Mr.
Shlonsky, 23, had just gotten out of an Uber with friends and was heading to a
concert at the Howard Theatre. He was walking in the 1800 block of Seventh
Street NW, near the entrance to the Shaw/Howard University Metro station, when
one of the bullets from the shootout struck him in the chest. He was pronounced
dead a short time later.
While King
and Proctor were firing their weapons, a couple was walking on the sidewalk of
the 700 block of S Street NW. The man and woman were each pushing strollers
that had two young children inside each of them. Hearing the gunshots, the
couple sprinted away, however, their proximity to the gunfire put them in the
zone of harm.
While
Dudley drove east on S Street NW, his vehicle came head-to-head with a vehicle
turning left on S Street, NW, from Sixth Street NW. Blocked, Dudley again lifted his head and
arms out of the sunroof, pointed a gun at the driver, threatened to kill him,
and yelled at him to move his car.
Scared, the driver moved his vehicle and Dudley then continued across S
Street; as he sped into the 1900 block of Fourth Street NW, another man yelled
at Dudley to slow down. In response,
Dudley slammed on the brakes, rolled down his window, pointed an imitation
firearm at the man, which the man believed was an actual firearm, and fired
shots in the general vicinity of the man. Dudley then left the area. Dudley
pled guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for these crimes.
As part of
the plea agreement, Dudley admitted to his role in the May 17, 2018 stabbing of
a fellow inmate at the District of Columbia Jail. The victim of that incident sustained
non-life-threatening injuries.
Dudley was
arrested on a warrant in a burglary case on Sept. 11, 2015, and charged with
the murder in December 2015. King was arrested on Aug. 21, 2015. Proctor was
arrested on Feb. 23, 2016. All have been in custody since their arrests.
In
announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the
work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police
Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the
FBI, including the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team, and the District of
Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences.
They
acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S.
Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon Donovan, Kimberley
Nielsen, Laura A. Bach, Jeffrey Nestler, Julianne Johnston, and Sharon
Marcus-Kurn; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton; Paralegal Specialists
Lornce Applewhite and Sharon Newman; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin;
Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Criminal Investigator Durand
Odom, and Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker.
Finally,
they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney David Misler, who
investigated and prosecuted the case.
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