A man has entered a guilty plea in the D.C. Superior Court on charges of second-degree murder in the killing of Danzell Hall this past July, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Michael Grayton, a 42-year-old from Washington D.C., admitted to the crime which occurred in the Northeast, with U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and MPD Chief Pamela A. Smith announcing the development.
The guilty plea, which took place on November 1 before Judge Maribeth Raffinan, could result in Grayton facing between 14 and 26 years in prison under the District of Columbia Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, despite the charge carrying a potential maximum penalty of 40 years and a $250,000 fine, with sentencing scheduled for April 25, 2025. Grayton has been held in custody since his arrest on August 20, shortly after the incident.
Details of the case reveal that on July 12, at about 2:52 am, MPD responded to a distressing scene on Benning Road, Northeast, where they discovered the victim, Mr. Hall, with fatal gunshot wounds. Declared dead just two minutes later, the investigation soon turned to surveillance footage that implicated Grayton as the shooter, leading to his apprehension by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force the following month.
