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Man sentenced in murder of DC mom and dad who left 5 children behind

Investigators say Alonzo Lewis, 38, shot and killed the couple in front of a number of children who were outside playing over the holiday weekend in 2018.

WASHINGTON — A D.C. man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting and killing a married couple back in 2018. Venius Badgett was a school bus aide and Jaquan Helm a youth football coach, with five children between the two, at the time of their death.

On Tuesday, Alonzo Lewis, 38, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced to 30 years in prison for two counts of second-degree murder while armed stemming from the brutal shooting of the married couple over Memorial Day weekend in 2018. 

Lewis pleaded guilty in October 2023, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two counts of second-degree murder while armed. The plea calls for a 30-year prison term. The Honorable Rainey Brandt approved the agreement and sentenced Lewis accordingly. Following his prison term, Lewis will be placed on five years of supervised release.

According to evidence, on May 26, 2018, at 10:10 p.m., Badgett and her husband ran into Lewis's young son riding his bike in a dark parking lot. Fearful that the child might get hit, Badgett told Lewis's son not to ride his bike in the parking lot at night. Lewis's son then told his mother about the warning, and Lewis's wife got into a fight with Badgett. 

Investigators say Helm was able to break up the fight, and as he and Badgett returned home, Lewis's son called his father to the scene. After arriving, Lewis shot and killed the couple in front of a number of children who were outside playing over the holiday weekend. 

Detectives say the couple left behind a number of children, some of whom witnessed their parents' murder. 

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