DC attempted murder charges dropped after victim dies of other causes

While searching the home of the suspect in a non-fatal shooting, D.C. police discovered a body in the attic, unrelated to the first crime.

The investigation into the two incidents focused on the same man. But now, the charges in the non-fatal shooting have been dismissed at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

On June 12, 2024, a Metrobus driver at the Minnesota Avenue station called 911 around 10:30 p.m. to say a man who had been shot was sitting in one of the bus shelters. The victim had been shot nine times but miraculously survived.

Detectives were led to a house on nearby Hayes Street NE, where the man identified by the victim as the person who shot him was believed to be squatting.

There, according to court documents, they found what appeared to be two separate shooting locations —.one on the main level, where there were bullet holes in the furniture and walls, and another one in the attic. There, they discovered the body of 38-year-old James King III.

Detectives noted there was an empty bleach bottle near King’s body. There was a hole in the right side of his head covered in blood.

The man in the home told detectives he and King had been smoking K2 when a demon spirit arrived and shot his friend James in the head. He said that he sat with the body for two days and didn’t call the police because “that’s not what the streets do.”

“I feel in my heart that in this case, there is enough evidence to prove that this person committed this crime against my son,” said Saprina Hampton, King’s mother.

Hampton is now trying to wrap her head around the latest development in what has been unrelenting grief for her family.

A motion submitted on behalf of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro requests that charges in the attempted murder be dropped because that victim recently died of causes unrelated to the shooting. The suspect was ordered released.

Hampton, a former D.C. police officer, is in shock. She’s very worried the opportunity to close her son’s case is slipping away and has asked to meet with prosecutors.

“All I am asking is that due diligence and justice is brought forward to bring justice for my son James’ case,” she said.

The charges in the attempted murder were dismissed without prejudice, which carries the possibility of future prosecution.