Arrest Made in SE Killing Of Girl Shot Shielding Baby

Lesene was arrested about noon yesterday a few blocks from his home in the 1200 block of Kenilworth Avenue NE, police said. He was jailed overnight and most likely will appear today in D.C. Superior Court.

Gray, who was about to start her senior year at Eastern High School, was shot while she was with some friends. A gold Cadillac pulled up, and one or more gunmen began firing into the crowd, police said. Gray pushed the baby boy under a parked car just before at least one gunman walked over and fired several times. The infant was not injured.

The Cadillac had been carjacked about 45 minutes earlier in Prince George's, police said, and was recovered soon after the killing.

Morris said authorities have evidence that Lesene had been in the car, but he provided no specifics. "There is some evidence we found in the vehicle," Morris said.

Lesene's name surfaced as a possible suspect two days after the crime, Morris said, but it took time for police to talk to witnesses and build a case.

Gray's killing came exactly a month after her boyfriend, Ronnie Garner, 17, was shot in the head several blocks away. Police have made no arrests in that case, and Morris said detectives are still looking into whether the two cases are related.

Gray's aunt, Juliette Randolph, said several family members were familiar with Lesene, adding that Gray knew him as well. She declined to elaborate. Randolph said that Lesene used to live in the Benning Terrace area and that even after he moved away, he would hang out there.

She said his arrest helps with the family's grief.

"It takes a little bit of weight off our chest," she said. "But we still feel a void, an emptiness inside."

Staff writer Henri E. Cauvin contributed to this report.