A federal jury has convicted Malique Lewis and Marcel Vines in a case of revenge that ended with two people kidnapped and brutally murdered in December 2017. The U.S. Attorney's Office reported yesterday that the verdict followed a four-week trial at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The tragic string of events was set into motion by a murder that preceded it merely days before. Lewis, 26, and Vines, 28, sought to avenge the death of their friend, transporting across the city with heavy artillery to track down and punish the man they believed responsible. However, their misguided quest for justice only served to perpetuate the cycle of violence, snaring innocent lives in its wake. In a twisted turn, the defendants kidnapped Armani Nico Coles and Kerrice Lewis, not related to Malique Lewis, in an attempt to lure the actual target.
Evidence presented during the trial showcased a chilling timeline. On December 28, between 2:45 and 3:00 pm, in an AutoZone parking lot, the defendants abducted Kerrice Lewis. Using her own car, they drove her across the city, with her held at gunpoint in the backseat. Later that evening, Nico Coles was similarly forced into the vehicle, while Ms. Lewis was restrained in the trunk. The journey took a lethal turn on Interstate 295 in Maryland where Coles was shot and his body discarded on the road. An hour later, Kerrice Lewis met an even more harrowing fate—shot over a dozen times and left in the trunk of her burning car in an alley in Southeast D.C.
Ballistic analysis confirmed that the same two firearms, a .45 caliber and a 7.62mm caliber, were used in both murders. Law enforcement also recovered prints from an item ejected from the car with Mr. Coles, which were identified as belonging to Vines. Notably, Malique Lewis was later spotted driving Coles' missing vehicle. "We ain't done," Lewis allegedly texted, in messages obtained by investigators, alongside news articles about the crimes. Both Lewis and Vines were arrested on January 5, 2018, and have been in custody since.
The investigation was a collaborative effort by the Metropolitan Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, and the FBI's Washington Field Office, with support from the United States Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberley Nielsen, George Eliopoulos, and Colleen Kukowski are credited with prosecuting the case. U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich is expected to schedule sentencing soon. Both defendants face the severe prospect of two consecutive life sentences without parole.
