WASHINGTON, DC – An arrest was made regarding a D.C. homicide being investigated as a suspected hate crime that occurred in late May. Authorities say the victim, who’d apparently texted a friend about not feeling “safe” shortly before, had his head stomped in and was left to bleed out in an alley.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) issued a press release earlier in July announcing the arrest of a suspect accused of the May 24th fatal beating of 35-year-old Dalonte Lamont Jackson, who authorities believe was attacked due to his sexual orientation.
On the afternoon of May 24th, MPD officers responded to a report of an unconscious man laying in an alley along 3300 block of East Capitol Street. When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Jackson with his pants removed, barely alive, and lying in a pool of his own blood. Jackson was rushed to an area hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries five days later.
According to Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, an autopsy of the victim concluded he died from blunt force trauma, ruling the victim’s death a homicide. Investigators later learned the fatal incident began at an apartment complex located along the 3600 block of Jay Street and concluded at the alleyway where Jackson’s body was discovered.
Witnesses and those familiar with the victim informed police that Jackson was an openly gay man and would routinely attempt to court “down low” men, eventually leading to an exchange of sexual messages sent via social media to an individual later identified as 35-year-old Maurice Pierre Hawley. Prior to Jackson arriving at Hawley’s residence on May 24th, one witness told investigators they received a text from Jackson reading, “I don’t feel safe, just in case.”
Police say when Jackson arrived at Hawley’s residence, Hawley “kept hitting and punching the victim,” with one witness reportedly being present during the alleged attack. Video surveillance footage captured near the area where Jackson was discovered reportedly showed a gray Mazda registered to Hawley pulling up and someone removing Jackson’s prone body from the vehicle. Witnesses later told police one person “stood back and watched” while another individual “stomped” on Jackson’s head approximately ten times before the driver fled and returned roughly a minute later to run over the victim’s legs.
After Jackson’s body was dumped, police claim another individual attempted to clean up the crime scene at Hawley’s apartment. Hawley was later arrested by local authorities out of Jackson, North Carolina, on June 16th following a warrant being issued out of D.C. for his arrest in connection with the fatal beating of Jackson.
Officials haven’t announced whether any additional suspects are actively being sought or charged in connection with the case. Hawley’s preliminary hearing on a charge for first-degree murder is slated for July 31st.
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