Man found tied up and killed in Northwest DC apartment was chosen at random, court docs say

He opened the front door of his Logan Circle condo building for people he did not know, and it cost him his life.

D.C. police have announced an arrest in the murder of 40-year-old Syed Hussain, who was found tied up, beaten, strangled and burned.

Court documents in support of the arrest of 36-year-old Rico Rashaad Barnes contain abundant security camera images, including ones alleged to show Barnes and a second suspect inside the victim’s Rhode Island Avenue NW condo building.

Detectives believe the men, who had been hanging out at a nearby Popeye’s restaurant, followed Hussain as he walked home from getting himself some food.

An image time stamped at 1:39 a.m. the day of the murder shows one of the suspects knocking on the glass door right after Hussein entered his building and was still in the lobby. The victim opened the door, and almost immediately, according to detectives, the suspects began an argument with him that turned into an attack on the sidewalk after Hussein walked out the front door.

They eventually dragged him inside using his key fob and into his ground floor apartment. Inside, according to court documents, Hussain was found “bound at the wrists and ankles by neckties.” He had suffered “blunt impact” injury to his head, “strangulation” and “thermal injuries” — burns — to his back and arms.

Residents of the building tell News4 they are relieved to hear of an arrest.

“People in the building have been really good at supporting each other, you know, being a shoulder for each other to lean on,” said neighbor Theo Hebblethwaite.

Police believe robbery was the motive, submitting as evidence images of the two suspects leaving the building with bags belonging to Hussein. One can be seen wearing a leather coat and pushing a bike believed to belong to the victim.

Suspected stolen goods include the victim’s iPhone, two laptops, the bike, the leather jacket, passport, $50,000 in unspecified foreign currency, Gucci loafers and a Cartier watch. An empty Hermes dust bag was also recovered.

“Unfortunately, we see things like that all the time where there may be a fellow neighbor in an apartment building or things like that and folks will let them in, and in this case they just took advantage of him completely,” said D.C. Interim Police Chief Jeffrey Carroll. “This is a heinous crime as far as injuries that were inflicted upon him. It’s just terrible.

Police have identified the second suspect in this murder and say he is currently in custody on unrelated charges.