Amard Jefferson, a 25-year-old resident of Ft. Washington, Maryland, was convicted by a Superior Court jury for the second-degree murder of Kendall Brown. The incident took place in August 2021. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department announced the conviction.
Jefferson was also found guilty of obstruction of justice after attempting to persuade his girlfriend to falsely confess to the crime. Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt has set the sentencing date for February 14, 2025. Jefferson could face up to 60 years in prison.
The government presented evidence that on August 7, 2021, at around 4:28 p.m., Kendall Brown and two others visited an apartment on Nelson Place Southeast to collect personal belongings left behind by one of them after moving out. During their visit, a verbal argument ensued which escalated when Jefferson introduced a firearm and threatened to "call his men." Without provocation or justification, he then shot Ms. Brown.
After committing the act, Jefferson locked Ms. Brown inside the apartment and fled with his girlfriend and a minor child. He disposed of the murder weapon—a black 9mm ghost gun—in a drainpipe nearby. In an attempt to evade legal responsibility following his arrest, Jefferson communicated with his girlfriend through text messages and phone calls from the D.C. Department of Corrections, urging her to take responsibility for the murder.
The investigation was conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Kubo and Stephanie Dinan are prosecuting this case.