Two District Men Charged for September 6, 2023, Murder in Southwest Apartment Building

            WASHINGTON – Keshawn Lavender, 22, and Deandre Sams, 27, both of Washington, D.C., were presented in Superior Court yesterday on first degree felony murder while armed charges stemming from the homicide of 32-year-old Matthew Miller on September 6, 2023, in the Wharf neighborhood, in Southwest, Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. 

            Lavender and Sams were arraigned before Magistrate Judge Judith Pipe on the charges in Courtroom C-10, D.C. Superior Court, where both entered pleas of not guilty. The court heard arguments and found probable cause to believe that the defendants committed first degree felony murder while armed. The court held the defendants without bond pending a preliminary hearing to be held on September 27, 2023, before Judge Anthony Epstein. 

            An arrest on a complaint is merely a formally charged allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

            In announcing the charge, U.S. Attorney Graves commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.