A person has been arrested within the killing of Syed Hammad Hussain, a 40-year-old Northwest Washington resident discovered useless inside his condominium within the metropolis’s ritzy Logan Circle neighborhood in February, in what police describe as a “notably heinous” case involving a theft, a violent assault and a hearth set after his dying.
Rico Rashaad Barnes, 36, of Northwest DC, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree homicide whereas armed in Hussain’s killing, authorities mentioned.
Police have recognized a second suspect, who’s already in custody on unrelated prices and is anticipated to be charged within the case.
The killing occurred within the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue NW, a well-trafficked space within the Logan Circle space identified for its eating places and high-end residential buildings.
“This was a very heinous case,” Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeff Carroll mentioned throughout a Tuesday information convention. “Mr. Hussain was discovered affected by blunt drive trauma and thermal accidents inside his house.”
Firefighters responding to reviews of smoke round 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 11 entered Hussain’s house, extinguished a small hearth and located him unconscious and never respiratory.
He was pronounced useless on the scene.
The Workplace of the Chief Medical Examiner later dominated the dying a murder attributable to blunt drive trauma and strangulation.
Investigators decided the hearth had been set after Hussain’s dying.
Court docket paperwork obtained by Fox Information Digital element the violent sequence of occasions.
In line with a 27-page affidavit reviewed by Fox Information Digital, surveillance footage reveals Hussain getting into his house constructing round 1:30 a.m., adopted carefully by two males.
“The video reveals two suspects showing to observe Mr. Hussain into the constructing,” Commander Kevin Kentish of the division’s Felony Investigations Division mentioned Tuesday. “Shortly thereafter, the suspects knocked on the door, and Mr. Hussain allowed them inside.”
As soon as inside, investigators say, the encounter escalated.
Video and witness statements, police mentioned, revealed that Hussain was assaulted within the constructing’s foyer, struck and knocked to the bottom earlier than being compelled towards his house. Detectives imagine he was then dragged or carried inside, the place the assault continued out of view of cameras.
When emergency crews later entered the house, they discovered Hussain mendacity face down together with his wrists and ankles sure. Blood was seen on flooring, partitions and furnishings, based on investigators.
The post-mortem discovered a number of blunt drive accidents, together with cranium fractures, in addition to proof of ligature strangulation.
Burns to Hussain’s physique had been decided to have occurred after his dying. Investigators allege the killing befell throughout a theft.
The house had been searched, with drawers opened and objects lacking, together with electronics, jewellery and money. Authorities mentioned that $50,000 value of things had been stolen from the apartment.
“Video proof was key on this case,” Kentish mentioned, including that detectives spent “numerous hours” reviewing footage from contained in the constructing and surrounding areas.
That video path revealed that the suspects left the constructing round 2:30 a.m. carrying a number of baggage.
Detectives tracked them throughout Northwest Washington utilizing surveillance cameras and pictures obtained with assist from Metro Transit Police.
The suspects had been seen strolling alongside Rhode Island Avenue, then boarding a Metrobus and touring towards the Georgia Avenue hall earlier than persevering with by foot, based on investigators.
By way of that course of, police recognized Barnes as one of many suspects.
Court docket paperwork say detectives matched surveillance pictures with police information and witness identifications.
A second suspect, recognized in courtroom paperwork as Alphonso Walker, was additionally linked to the crime by way of surveillance footage, witness statements and GPS information from an ankle monitor, which positioned him within the space in the course of the timeframe of the killing.
Barnes was arrested March 30 by members of the Capital Space Regional Fugitive Job Pressure.
Police mentioned they don’t imagine there are extra suspects.
Investigators mentioned they don’t imagine Hussain had a previous relationship with the suspects earlier than the day of the killing.
Carroll praised the work of murder detectives and associate companies concerned within the case, calling it “sturdy detective work.”
“On behalf of your complete Metropolitan Police Division, I need to categorical my deepest sympathies to Mr. Hussain’s household and his buddies,” Carroll mentioned. “We all know that this information doesn’t ease the ache that you simply’re feeling, however we hope it does deliver some stage of closure.”
Barnes stays in custody because the case proceeds in DC Superior Court docket.
