Slaying Suspect Says He Only Used Credit Cards

SE Man Tells Police He Played No Role in Fatal Assault of New York Times Journalist

A 42-year-old man accused of taking part in the fatal beating and robbery of a longtime journalist near his Northwest Washington home told investigators that he used the victim's credit cards but did not take part in the assault, police wrote in court documents made public yesterday.

The suspect, Percy Jordan Jr., said nothing during a brief hearing in D.C. Superior Court on first-degree murder charges in the death of David E. Rosenbaum, a veteran New York Times reporter and editor.

Jordan, who turned himself in Friday afternoon, was ordered held yesterday by D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz.

Authorities allege that Jordan and a cousin, Michael C. Hamlin, 23, attacked and robbed Rosenbaum while the reporter was taking an after-dinner walk just after 9 p.m. Jan. 6 in his usually quiet neighborhood. The crime sparked community outrage and raised questions about emergency and police responses.

Hamlin, arrested Thursday, is also being held on first-degree murder charges. They have a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 25.

Hamlin has told investigators that he and Jordan spotted Rosenbaum in the 3800 block of Grammercy Street NW shortly after 9 p.m. and decided to rob him, police said. He told investigators that he stole Rosenbaum's wallet after Jordan struck the reporter with a metal pipe, police wrote in court documents charging Jordan in the killing.

Rosenbaum was found by a neighbor and taken to Howard University Hospital, where he died two days later. An autopsy determined that he had died from a severe head injury and blows to his body and limbs.

Within minutes of the attack, one of Rosenbaum's credit cards was used at a nearby Exxon gas station. His cards were used several more times in the District, Maryland and Virginia, police have said.

On Thursday, Hamlin turned himself in after investigators released a surveillance photo of a suspect using Rosenbaum's credit card at a CVS in Southeast and an auto parts store in Maryland.

Jordan, of the 1400 block of Bangor Street SE, showed up at the 7th District police station Friday afternoon, telling officers that he needed to "clean up some things because his cousin got him in this" situation, police wrote in charging documents.

Although Jordan told investigators that he played no role in Rosenbaum's attack, he admitted to being with Hamlin at the time the assault occurred, charging documents say.

Police wrote that Jordan also told police that he and Hamlin used Rosenbaum's credit cards the night of the attack to fill up motorists' fuel tanks in exchange for cash at a gas station in Southeast Washington.

Investigators also found an unidentified witness who told them that Jordan said he and Hamlin had done something they "could get a lot of time for," police wrote. Jordan told the witness that the pair had struck Rosenbaum "but didn't know if they had killed him."

Jordan's attorney, Michael Starr, attacked Hamlin's statements in court yesterday and said authorities had presented no physical evidence linking his client to the crime.

"All they have are the words of Michael Hamlin and all of its problems," Starr said.

In an interview outside the courtroom, Starr said that "there are very serious questions about the evidence the government is relying on."

D.C. authorities continue to investigate the emergency and medical responses to Rosenbaum's wounds. It took 23 minutes for an ambulance to reach the scene, and emergency medical technicians thought Rosenbaum was drunk, not a crime victim. He was taken to Howard University Hospital, where he was not treated for at least an hour.

Police have also been faulted for not roping off the crime scene after learning early the next morning that Rosenbaum had been assaulted. They did not secure the scene until just after 11 a.m., friends of the Rosenbaums have said.