WASHINGTON D.C., DC — A murder suspect is being held without bond following a police standoff Sunday in Southeast D.C. that ended in a house fire that left at least two families without a home.
Sherman Holley, 45, of Southeast D.C. pleaded not guilty to second degree murder charges Thursday in his first court appearance. Investigators say he stabbed and killed James Brooks Junior on Sunday, Jan. 15.
Court documents released Thursday indicate that a fight broke out between Holley and Brooks over drugs. A witness told investigators that Holley is known to consume "PCP and Molly."
The next day, when police returned to the scene of the crime in the 200 block of 37th Place Southeast to interrogate Holley, he hid in the second story room he was renting. After throwing items out of the window, officers noticed a trail of smoke coming out of the bedroom window.
The heat from the fire inside the room forced Holley out of the room and he eventually turned himself over to officers, according to court documents. He was arrested on the scene and taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Holley is expected to be back in court on Feb. 9.
The fire then spread, leaving the unit where Holley was staying and the neighboring home uninhabitable.
"To stand there and watch it, ultimately is the most painful part because we are watching everything, and it's gone," said Jamilya Osborne to WUSA9 after losing their family home.
Osborne says the most painful part is losing her late mother's belongings. "Even looking at it is really emotional because it's like all her memories are gone. She's gone. The home is gone," she said.
Osbourne's sister who was staying in the house with her two daughters was escorted out of the home by SWAT Monday evening. She stepped out with the clothes on her back, unaware she would not be able to return back to the residence.
"How do you explain that to a two-year-old? How do you explain that to an eight-year-old? That we are no longer going to live in this house because someone destroyed it," said Osborne.
In the fire, Osborne's niece with special needs lost her wheelchair that she needs to walk as well as her cat. Another two kittens were taken to the Humane Society to be treated for burns on their feet.
The Osborne sisters have created a GoFundMe account to help her sister rebuild, but Jamilya made one thing clear, "The things that we built in this house together cannot be replaced. That is gone."