DC Murder & Mayhem Report: Two Men Plead Guilty to Charges In Murder of Man in Southwest Washington

            WASHINGTON – Dominique Holmes, 25, and Gregory Smithwick, 23, both of Washington, D.C., have pled guilty to charges stemming from the murder of a man in Southwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.

         Both men pled guilty on Jan. 7, 2016, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  Holmes pled guilty to one charge of second-degree murder while armed as well as a charge of armed robbery in an unrelated case. Smithwick pled guilty to acting as an accessory after the fact to the armed carjacking in a crime leading up to the murder.

            The guilty pleas, which are contingent upon the Court’s approval, call for prison sentences of between 25 and 30 years for Holmes and between five and eight years for Smithwick. The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 18, 2016.

             According to the government’s evidence, on Oct. 10, 2014, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Holmes carried out a carjacking in the 2000 block of 37th Street SE.  Holmes picked up Smithwick almost immediately after the carjacking.  Smithwick got into the driver’s seat and drove away, helping Holmes escape from the area. Approximately 40 minutes after the carjacking, Holmes arrived in the carjacked vehicle in the 100 block of Ivanhoe Street SW.  Holmes went up to the apartment unit of the victim, Ricky Kelly.  Kelly, 29, was about to take his children to school, and they were in his car parked just outside of the apartment building.  Kelly was alone inside the apartment.  Holmes shot Kelly nine times with a 9mm handgun inside his apartment.  He and Smithwick then fled the scene in the carjacked vehicle.

             Shortly after the murder, the carjacked vehicle was spotted, and Smithwick and Holmes led officers on a high-speed chase that ended near Alabama Avenue and 32nd Place SE.  Holmes and Smithwick were both immediately arrested.

            The armed robbery charge stems from an attack carried out by Holmes early Sept. 27, 2014, in the area of 41^st Street and Alabama Avenue SE. The victim was walking toward his parked car. Holmes, who was carrying what appeared to be a firearm, approached the man and demanded that he empty his pockets. The victim turned over his iPhone, some cash, and the keys to the vehicle. Holmes then drove away in the car with the victim’s belongings.

(Washington, DC) –Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced two arrests have been made in the homicide which occurred in the 100 block of Ivanhoe Street, Southwest. On Friday, October 10, 2014, at approximately 7:29 am members of the Seventh District responded to the 100 block of Ivanhoe Street, Southwest for the report of a shooting and located the victim 29-year-old Ricky Kelly of Southwest, DC inside a residence suffering from multiple gunshot shot wounds. He was later pronounced dead.

The investigation led to the arrests of two males: 22-year-old Gregory Smithwick of Northeast, DC and 23-year-old Dominique Holmes of Southeast, DC, who have both been charged with First Degree Murder While Armed in connection with the homicide of Mr. Ricky Kelly. Additionally, both defendants have been charged with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon for an offense that occurred today at approximately 6:45 am in the 2000 block of Fort Davis Street SE. Both defendants were also charged with Armed Carjacking for an offense that occurred today at approximately 6:51 am in the 2000 block of 37th Street, SE.