A 2022 shooting on a quiet Northeast D.C. block has now turned into a full-blown homicide case, nearly four years after the trigger was pulled.
Richard Price, 27, was charged Thursday in connection with an April 27, 2022, shooting on the 300 block of 56th Street NE that left 28-year-old Danielle Hicks-Best paralyzed and, after years of medical complications, dead. She suffered a single gunshot wound to the neck, an injury that police say upended her life before she ultimately died in May 2025 following prolonged treatment.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Price was charged on Feb. 26, 2026, with first-degree murder while armed after a D.C. Superior Court indictment and was remanded to the custody of the D.C. Department of Corrections. MPD says members of the Fugitive Unit responded to the DC Jail to process the booking and notes that Price had already been arrested on May 9, 2022, and charged with assault with intent to kill in the same investigation.
As reported by DC News Now, Hicks-Best became a quadriplegic after the shooting, spent more than two years receiving care, and an autopsy later ruled her death a homicide.
Court filings and what's next
Court coverage indicates the indictment does not stop at the murder count. It includes conspiracy, multiple counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, possession of firearms during a crime of violence, and several counts of obstruction of justice, according to DC Witness.
That reporting states two co-defendants, Danielle Price and Tyeesha Miller, pleaded not guilty at a Feb. 20 arraignment. A trial is scheduled for June 15, with a trial-readiness hearing set for May 15, setting up a busy summer calendar in D.C. Superior Court.
Investigators' timeline
In its public statement, MPD traces the case from the April 2022 shooting through Price's initial arrest and this month's grand-jury indictment. Officers responding to the 300 block of 56th Street NE on April 27, 2022, found Hicks-Best suffering from life-threatening injuries and took her to a hospital for treatment.
The department identified the investigation under CCN 22058767 and says the recent indictment triggered the Fugitive Unit's move to process Price at the DC Jail.
What the charges mean
First-degree murder while armed is among the most serious charges on the books in D.C., and the added weapons and obstruction counts suggest prosecutors are linking alleged efforts to interfere with witnesses or the investigation back to the original shooting, according to court reporting.
Defense attorneys entered not-guilty pleas at the arraignment and raised concerns about speedy-trial rights and discovery, DC Witness reports.
Price remains in the custody of the D.C. Department of Corrections and is due back in Superior Court for pretrial scheduling. Prosecutors and MPD have not issued additional public comment beyond the agency release and the court filings.
