A 22-year-old DC man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to Attempted First-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Murder, First-Degree Assault, Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Assault and Use of a Handgun in Commission of a Crime of Violence in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County in Rockville.
According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “Hewitt indicated he wanted to enter a guilty plea yesterday, May 21, 2024, in the middle of a jury trial, bringing the court proceeding to an end. Pursuant to a plea agreement, he now faces up to 30 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
This stems from an incident in the early morning hours of June 15, 2022, in Silver Spring that was captured by surveillance cameras. A man had just left a birthday celebration at a bar along Georgia Avenue and walked a friend to her vehicle. As he left his friend and began to cross Georgia Avenue to head to his own vehicle, a car pulled up and two men jumped out, dressed all in black, wearing ski masks and gloves, and holding handguns. The men started chasing the victim and he ran for his life. He ran into an alleyway called Mayor Lane as the men and car continued to chase him. They opened fire and hit the victim in the back. Video then shows the car reversing out of the alley onto Silver Spring Avenue and making a left onto Fenton Street. The victim was able to keep running and came upon a police cruiser, yelling “I’ve been shot.” Officers with Montgomery County Police applied a tourniquet to his leg in attempt to stop the bleeding until an ambulance arrived. The victim survived.
A police investigation led to the arrest of Demonte Hewitt and two co-defendants.
- Co-defendant Nathan Barnes pleaded guilty on October 3, 2023, to Armed Robbery and Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Assault.
- Co-defendant Brian Bowen pleaded guilty on May 6, 2024, to Conspiracy to Commit Robbery, Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Assault and Use of Handgun in Commission of Crime of Violence.
Both are awaiting sentencing.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Donna Fenton and Rachel Morris are handling prosecution of this matter.
“This was senseless, gratuitous violence. These men intended to kill the victim, who was a stranger to them. We thank Montgomery County Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, and U.S. Park Police for their work leading to the arrests in this case and we are gratified that the three defendants have now been convicted,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy.”
