WASHINGTON — A 14-year-old boy accused of killing a construction worker during an attempted robbery at Howard University earlier this month broke down in tears after the judge ordered him held on Tuesday.
Rafael Adolfo Gomez, 34, of Beltsville, Maryland, was shot to death on July 13.
WUSA9 is not identifying the teen accused in Gomez's murder.
Tuesday was the first court appearance for the Northeast D.C. boy. The judge in this case granted WUSA9 access to the court room.
For most of hours-long court proceeding, the teen was silent and fidgety acted like a teen. But at the end – when the judge ruled there probable cause to keep him detained – he put his head down and started crying. In fact, his grandmother needed to console him from the stands to get him to react to the judge.
According to a detective called on the stand, the teen was part of a group of suspects connected to two armed carjackings and one armed robbery earlier that morning.
First he said four suspects were seen on surveillance video carjacking a Toyota Corolla at around 4:10 a.m. by W Street Southeast. Then about five minutes later, that Corolla was seen by 22nd street Southeast, where witnesses say two suspects jumped out and carjacked a Nissan Rogue.
Then around 5:45 a.m., police say that same Nissan Rogue was seen by an alley way near M street Southeast where a man was robbed. Finally, the deadly shooting, which police say happened just after 6 a.m.
Three cameras from the construction site captured a “physical altercation” before shots were fired.
Prosecutors say surveillance video shows the Rogue dropping one suspect off in front of the home of the teenager. And there’s even video apparently showing the teen counting money in the hallway. Police say they found a sweatshirt matching some of the surveillance video in the teens home.
But the defense argued there was just not enough evidence to place the teen in the car at all, and certainly not enough to prove he pulled the trigger.
Regardless, the judge ordered the teen held at the Youth Services Center. His next court date will be on Friday
Meanwhile DC Police confirmed they’re still looking for additional suspects. They’re offering $25,000 to anyone who can provide info that leads to an arrest and conviction.