2 Men Admit to Other Georgetown, Adams Morgan Holdups
By Keith L. Alexander
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Two ex-convicts pleaded guilty yesterday to robbing and killing a British activist in Georgetown last summer and carrying out other holdups in the city.
Christopher Piper, 26, and Jeffrey Rice, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in the killing of Alan Senitt, an aspiring politician whose throat was slit in a crime that generated international attention. The slaying took place during a spike in homicides in July that led the city to declare a "crime emergency."
Piper and Rice also pleaded guilty yesterday to charges stemming from three other robberies in the Adams Morgan and Georgetown neighborhoods in the weeks before the killing. They each face up to 100 years in prison and are scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 24 in D.C. Superior Court.
Piper was paroled early last year after spending much of the previous eight years in prison, serving time for armed robbery and possession of marijuana. Rice was released from jail last May after serving time for violating probation on a cocaine conviction.
Senitt, 27, had come to the United States to study political fundraising and volunteer for former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner (D), who was weighing a presidential campaign. His friends said yesterday's guilty pleas provided some justice for a man who also had worked for peace between Jewish and Muslim communities.
"There are degrees of closure and reconciliation, but the pain will always be there," Elan Fabbri said. "The pain keeps Alan in our hearts."
Police have said Piper and Rice were joined in the attack by a 15-year-old who has pleaded guilty to charges as a juvenile. A fourth suspect, Olivia Miles, who is in her 20s, allegedly drove the getaway car; her case remains sealed at the courthouse.
Senitt was taken by surprise early July 9 while walking a female friend home after an evening at the movies. The two were in the 3100 block of Q Street NW when they were accosted at gunpoint by Piper, Rice and the 15-year-old, authorities said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty said yesterday that Piper was wielding a pellet gun that was painted black to look like a regular handgun. Piper snatched the woman's purse and reached inside her blouse and fondled her, Mohanty said.
As Senitt tried to help his friend, Rice threw him to the ground, stabbed him in the chest and slit his throat, Mohanty said.
In court yesterday, Rice, handcuffed and wearing an orange prison jump suit, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed with a knife, four counts of robbery and two counts of possessing a firearm during a violent crime.
Piper, handcuffed and wearing a blue prison jump suit, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sex abuse and four counts of robbery.
Prosecutors said no one was hurt in the earlier robberies, which included a June 4 holdup of two women in Adams Morgan and holdups a week later in Georgetown. In one case, a man's wallet was taken, and in the other, a woman's purse was taken.
Piper and Rice have been jailed since their arrests last summer, and they continue to be held without bond pending sentencing. Piper's attorney has asked the court to provide a psychological assessment before sentencing.
By pleading guilty, the two men avoided going to trial on more-serious charges that, in the event of convictions, could have led to life prison terms with no chance of parole.
They also could be hoping that, in light of their pleas, Judge Neal E. Kravitz will give them a break when he sentences them, legal specialists said.
Senitt's friends took some notes during the court proceedings but showed little emotion.
Later, Stephen Schneider described his friend's murder as a "tremendous loss of someone who only wanted to create peace and harmony in the world."
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