Source: Office of United States Attorneys
WASHINGTON – James G. Walker, 67, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty today in Superior Court of the District of Columbia on two counts of second-degree murder, and 27 criminal building code violations, for the deaths of Fitsum Kebede and Yafet Solomen, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Brian L. Schwalb, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division Anthony Spotswood, Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Chief John A. Donnelly, Sr.
Walker was indicted and arraigned on January 16, 2020, on two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of the lesser included charges of involuntary manslaughter and numerous criminal building code violations by Superior Court Judge Ronna L. Beck.
According to the government’s evidence, the defendant, James Walker, owned commercial property located at 708 Kennedy Street, N.W. Walker did not have a certificate of occupancy for the building and the structure was in violation of several fire safety codes. Walker operated the building as an illegal “rooming house.” Some of the building’s rooms were too small to be considered habitable space; some had no windows, and the defendant failed to install or maintain functional smoke alarms throughout the building, including the basement. The most egregious violation, however, was the failure to provide an unobstructed means to escape the property, which included erecting multiple security gates that required keys from both sides, the worst offense being a double-keyed security gate installed within the property that blocked access from the kitchen to the front door. Importantly, the defendant had received specific warnings on March 21, 2019, from the Metropolitan Police Department that the building was in violation of several building codes specifically related to fire safety and hazardous conditions. He was instructed to correct the conditions and have the building inspected for residential use. He did not.
On the morning of August 18, 2019, a fire erupted in the basement of 708 Kennedy Street. Three tenants were present at the time of the fire. 40-year-old Fitsum Kebede and 10-year-old Yafet Solomen were in the basement and were unable to exit the premises. They subsequently died from thermal burns and smoke inhalation. The government’s evidence was that the defendant’s knowledge of the danger posed by the conditions of the property and his conscious disregard of the extreme risk that death or serious bodily injury could occur were the but-for cause of the deaths of the decedents.
This case was jointly tried by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the District of Columbus Office of the Attorney General.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martin, D.C. Attorney General Schwalb, ATF Special Agent in Charge Spotswood, MPD Chief Smith, and Fire and EMS Chief Donnelly, commended the work of the ATF Arson and Explosives Task Force that investigated the case, including MPD, ATF, and Fire and EMS. Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant United States Attorney Vinet Bryant, Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Cargill and Assistant Attorney General Keith Ingram who prosecuted the case.