Teenager Held Without Bond in 1 of 2 Slayings

Suitland Youth Charged in Shooting in His Former Neighborhood in SE; Others Sought

A 17-year-old youth was ordered jailed without bond yesterday after he was charged as an adult with killing one of the two teenagers who were slain early Sunday in Southeast Washington.

Quincy Mitchell of Suitland was arrested Tuesday night and charged yesterday with killing Antoine Holroyd, 17, in a shooting that also left 16-year-old Michael Simms dead and three other people injured.

Police officials said they were seeking additional suspects and sorting through potential motives for the attack.

Holroyd and Simms were standing with a group of friends in the 2900 block of Pomeroy Road SE when two young men approached about 1:15 a.m. Sunday and opened fire, police said.

Holroyd was struck in the head and died at the scene. Simms was rushed to Howard University Hospital, where he died. Three others -- two 17-year-olds and a 22-year-old -- suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Police said as many as 20 shots were fired by at least two gunmen. A person in the targeted group might have returned fire, police said.

Mitchell showed no emotion during a brief appearance before D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Andrea L. Harnett. According to charging papers, one witness told police that Mitchell was holding a gun moments before the shooting. The same witness told police that Mitchell was with another person at the shooting scene, the documents said. The witness began running as the shots were fired, the charging papers said.

Mitchell's attorney, Thomas Dybdahl, argued that the witness's account was not a strong enough reason to justify keeping his client in custody. But Harnett ruled that the evidence was sufficient to keep him locked up and scheduled a preliminary hearing for July 23 on a first-degree murder charge.

Investigators suspect the shooting was sparked by a neighborhood rivalry or was in retaliation for the shooting in November of a former Georgetown University basketball player, police said.

Police said they believe that one of those involved in Sunday's shooting is related to the basketball player, Victor Page, 29, who played two years for the Hoyas in the 1990s.

Page was struck three times as he sat in his sport-utility vehicle just down the street from Sunday's incident, police said. He survived.

Mitchell's mother said yesterday that her son was not involved in the violence Sunday. In an interview, she said he was raised in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred and knew the two youths who were slain.

"My son wouldn't do anything like that," said Valerie Graham, 39, Mitchell's mother. "He didn't bother anybody. My son is not the type of person to go around killing."

Mitchell and his family left their old neighborhood about four years ago. Graham wanted to get her son away from violence and other problems in the Southeast Washington community, she said.