On Thursday, September 20, 2007, members of the department’s Violent Crimes Branch charged 18-year-old Joshua Holfield, of the 1800 block of Lasalle Avenue, in Fayetteville, North Carolina with murder II While Armed in connection with the Murder of Marcus Whitaker and William Newman.

On Thursday, June 28, 2007, at approximately 9:45 pm, police and DC Fire Department emergency medical personnel responded to an apartment building located at 3604 22nd Street, SE to investigate the report of a shooting.  Upon arrival, they located 17-year-old William Newman, of the 3500 block of Portal Avenue, in Temple Hills, Maryland, suffering from a gunshot wound to the body lying in front of that address.  He was taken to the Howard University Hospital and pronounced dead.

A second victim,  identified as 22-year-old Marcus Whitaker, of the 3600 block of  Silver Park Drive, in Suitland, Maryland, was located in a third floor of a hallway of that apartment building suffering from apparent multiple gunshot wounds to the body. He was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia and pronounced dead.