A man accused of setting two homeless men on fire during a late-night rampage across Northeast Washington in 2020, killing one of them, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges including second-degree murder, arson, assault with a dangerous weapon and felony destruction. D'Aundrey Scott's case took more than six years to reach this point, delayed repeatedly by mental competency evaluations and psychiatric treatment.
Scott admitted to the charges in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday, according to FOX 5 DC. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the plea, calling the fires “shocking, deliberate and devastating” and describing the violence as a “calculated spree that inflicted immeasurable harm,” per the outlet's reporting. Pirro said the conviction ensures Scott “will be held fully accountable for the destruction he caused.”
The attacks unfolded within roughly an hour on May 13, 2020. Police said Scott first approached a man lying on the sidewalk on H Street NE and lit and tossed a small, flammable object at him just after 12:23 a.m. That victim, identified in U.S. Attorney records as Charles Newton, avoided serious injury by kicking away the ignited object before his clothes caught fire, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
A Second Attack Turns Fatal
Just 41 minutes later, Scott approached another man sleeping on a sidewalk a few blocks away — 62-year-old Darryl Finney, a man of no fixed address — and splashed him with a flammable liquid, police said. Finney was engulfed in flames and later transported to a hospital by first responders. He died two days later, on May 15, 2020, from severe thermal burn injuries, according to the same DOJ account; his personal belongings and shopping cart were also consumed by the fire.
Court and law enforcement records show Scott's spree did not stop there. He set fire to an automobile on Florida Avenue NE at 1:05 a.m., then scorched two residential porches on Morse Street NE between 1:25 a.m. and 1:28 a.m., damaging property and outdoor furniture at homes in the area, per the DOJ and the Metropolitan Police Department.
How Scott Was Caught
Police arrested Scott on May 19, 2020, six days after the attacks. He was spotted on Minnesota Avenue NE by D.C. Fire and EMS Fire Investigator Whitney Ward, who recognized his description from surveillance footage that had been released during the homicide investigation, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Ward reportedly took the initiative to canvass the area while returning from an unrelated call.
During his initial post-arrest interrogation, court records reported by DC Witness indicate Scott told investigators he suffered from schizophrenia and believed he was “possessed by demons” during the crime spree. He was later remanded for extensive psychiatric evaluation and competency restoration.
Six Years of Competency Proceedings
The case dragged on for more than six years in part because of multiple mental competency evaluations, psychiatric treatment at Saint Elizabeths Hospital, and a formal criminal responsibility assessment requested by the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health to explore a potential insanity defense, according to DC Witness reporting. Defense counsel and judges repeatedly adjusted trial timelines while Scott's mental responsibility was assessed.
Under the plea agreement, a binding Rule 11(c)(1)(C) deal, Scott's sentence is capped at a stipulated range of 15 to 35 years in prison across the four counts, the Justice Department said. Sentencing is scheduled for October 23.
A Death That Echoed Beyond the Courtroom
Finney's death drew attention from local advocates well before Thursday's plea. In December 2020, the advocacy group People for Fairness Coalition wrote his name on the sidewalk outside D.C.'s John A. Wilson Building, part of an effort to draw public attention to violence faced by unhoused residents, timed to coincide with the annual Homeless Persons' Memorial Day, according to Street Sense Media.
Finney's death is part of a broader, documented pattern of lethal violence against unhoused Americans. The National Coalition for the Homeless has tracked nearly 2,000 violent attacks against unhoused individuals nationwide between 1999 and 2022, resulting in at least 588 homicides from arson, beatings and shootings. Separately, Street Sense Media has reported that D.C. police recorded zero official hate crimes against unhoused individuals in 2020, since bias-motivated violence based on housing status is not recognized under District or federal hate crime statutes — a gap advocates argue leads to underreporting of anti-homeless violence.
