WASHINGTON — A homicide investigation is underway in Northeast D.C. after a man was found dead in an apartment fire earlier this year.
According to officers with the Metropolitan Police Department, just after 10:20 a.m. on April 22, crews with DC Fire and EMS responded to Saratoga Avenue Northeast, off of 14th Street Northeast, for a fire in an apartment building. After the fire was put out, firefighters found the remains of a man, later identified as 64-year-old James Lavender, of Northeast D.C.
Lavender was pronounced dead at the scene. It was later determined that he died from blunt force trauma, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and his death was ruled a homicide.
Police are working to determine a person of interest in the case.
The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for each homicide committed in the District of Columbia. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.