Oak Hill Worker Held in '98 Slaying Had Drug, Other Convictions

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said yesterday that a man charged this week in a 1998 murder case worked at a school serving the District's juvenile detention facility and never should have been hired.

James W. Irving, 42, was arrested Wednesday at the Oak Hill complex in Maryland, where he worked during the past year. Officials described his duties as akin to those of a hall monitor at the Oak Hill Academy, which is run for the city by the nonprofit See Forever Foundation.

Court records show that Irving has a history of arrests in the District, including convictions in a 1989 drug case and a 1993 case involving charges of obstructing justice and conspiracy. Details on those cases were not available last night. Irving also was arrested during the 1990s on assault, drug, theft and other charges, but those cases were dismissed before trials, records show.

Irving, who was on parole on the conspiracy and obstruction charges, was under the supervision of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency. He was to remain on parole until 2015.

Speaking at a news conference to announce the closure of several unrelated homicide cases this week, Fenty (D) said Irving should not have passed a background check, "especially when he is in direct contact with young people."

Irving was charged with felony murder in the slaying of Michael N. Womack, 24, on Aug. 31, 1998, outside an apartment building on 28th Place SE. One of the gunshots that night flew into the building, wounding a 10-year-old boy who had been asleep in bed. In charging papers, police wrote that the gunfire stemmed from a dispute involving rival groups from two blocks in the area.

A judge in D.C. Superior Court ordered that Irving, of Southeast Washington, remain jailed pending a follow-up hearing next week.

David Domenici, principal at Oak Hill Academy, said Irving's formal title was behavioral specialist and his job was to calm students who were acting out by taking them into the hallway for a break. Irving also coordinated with Oak Hill security to get the youths to and from each classroom and from the school to their living quarters. The youths are required to travel in small numbers, always supervised.

"He helps calm them down when they are off-task," Domenici said. "He was a very good employee."

Domenici said that a background check was done on Irving and that officials were aware of his past. "At the time, we believed he was qualified to be hired," he said. "We had positive recommendations, including one from his parole officer."

There are about 60,000 ex-offenders in the District, and there has been a push, endorsed by the D.C. Council and Fenty, to get them jobs. The city sponsors a program for ex-offenders known as Project Empowerment.

Officials said there are two disqualifiers for city-funded jobs relating to children: having a conviction for a sex offense or a crime against children. After that, it's an issue of discretion. Several groups that hire ex-offenders work with youths at Oak Hill and those who live in groups homes or residential settings and who are committed to the care of the city's Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services.

Irving was arrested the same day that the D.C. Council held a hearing on the juvenile justice agency. Witnesses included Tyrone Parker, who heads the Alliance for Concerned Men, a group that works with the city. Parker said that men with checkered pasts often "speak the language" of troubled youths and can get them on track.

Police officials have said that a new witness brought evidence that led to the murder charge against Irving. According to the charging papers, that witness saw Irving emerge from the woods near the apartment building and fire a gun but was not completely forthright with police at the time because he intended to handle the matter personally.