A man accused of a homicide that resulted in a police barricade and a fire at a Southeast D.C. apartment Monday served time in connection with an arson that killed an infant in Prince George's County 30 years ago.
The incident began Monday afternoon when homicide detectives were looking for a suspect in the death of 53-year-old James Brooks around 37th Place Sunday evening.
While they were in the neighborhood, detectives saw a man who fit the suspect description. He saw them and ran inside the apartment building at the 200 block of 37th Place to hide, according to D.C. police.
Police then declared a barricade situation.
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As police tried to coax the suspect out, they noticed flames coming from the building and called firefighters.
Nearly an hour after, the man escaped through a second-floor window onto a ladder, police said.
The suspect, Sherman Holley, eventually came down the ladder. Video shows him being taken away from the scene by paramedics on a stretcher.
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Holley was one of five teenagers accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into apartment near Capitol Heights Feb. 20, 1993, according to law enforcement sources and court records. Prosecutors said it was a plot to kill a witness.
A 1-year-old child was killed.
Prosecutors recommended a sentence of 10-20 years. Holley pleaded guilty and cooperated in the case. It’s unclear how much time he served.
Now, he faces a second-degree murder charge in Brooks’ death.
Two homes were destroyed in the fire during the standoff Monday. Neighbors said one of the displaced families includes an elderly woman who is dependent on oxygen, and another has a child with special needs.
“I feel bad for them,” said a woman who said she spoke with both families as smoke billowed out of the windows. “Why did you want to take something from them? Why did you want to destroy their lives?”
Both families are at hotels, according to the D.C. Housing Authority.
