On Monday May 7, 2007, Carson Alfred Washington pled guilty to twelve felony charges, including Capital Murder. The defendant pled guilty to the following charges:

(#1) Capital Murder
(#2) Use of a Firearm in the Commission of Capital Murder
(#3) Breaking and Entering while armed with a Deadly Weapon
(#4) Use of a Firearm in the Commission of Burglary
(#5) Robbery of David Poe
(#6) Use of a Firearm in the Commission of Robbery of David Poe
(#7) Robbery of Danielle Parrish
(#8) Use of a Firearm in the Commission of Robbery of Danielle Parrish
(#9) Abduction of Donald Somers
(#10) Use of a Firearm in the Commission of Abduction
(#11) Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
(#12) Wearing a Mask in Public in the Commission of a Crime

After pleading guilty to all twelve charges, the defendant was sentenced to serve One Life Sentence + 200 years in the penitentiary. This case had been set for a week-long jury trial set to begin on May 21, 2007.

The facts of the case revealed that on Sunday evening, June 11, 2006, the defendant and 2 other men, broke into a home located at 1614 Early Street. At the time of the break-in, there were two adults sleeping in the residence and four children under the age of ten. The defendant was armed with a loaded shotgun and had clothing on in an attempt to conceal his identity.

While one of the co-defendants held an 8-year old boy captive downstairs, the defendant and a man named Shawn Cabler ran upstairs to the bedroom where 26-year old David Devin Poe was sleeping with his 26-year old fiancee, Danielle Parrish, and their 3-week old infant daughter. While Cabler beat Poe in the upper body with his firearm, the defendant barked out commands that they wanted all the guns, drugs, and money in the house. The defendant threatened Poe and his family that they would would be killed if his demands were not met. At one point inside the bedroom, Cabler placed his gun to the head of the 3-week old infant as Washington told the family that they would kill the child if they did not get the money.

The defendant and Cabler eventually ordered Poe, Parrish, and the infant child to go downstairs and to sit on the floor with their backs up against a small sofa. Down in the living room, the defendant and Cabler took turns repeatedly striking Poe in the head and upper body with the barrel ends of their weapons. The defendant then placed his weapon up against the back left portion of Poe's head and pulled the trigger. After killing Poe, the defendant threatened Parrish that she would be harmed if she called the police and then the defendant and his co-defendants ran from the house to a get-away vehicle that was parked and waiting for them on Fauquier Street. The defendant and his co-defendants then sped off in the direction of downtown Lynchburg.

The Lynchburg Police Department responded to the scene and immediately activated their entire investigative unit. Within two hours of the murder occurring, Lynchburg Police were on the hunt for the defendant and Shawn Cabler.

Over the next several days, police searched for the defendant by tracking down leads of where he may be hiding. Police searched a motel in Farmville where the defendant's father had rented him a room for one night. Police searched a vacant house in Prince Edward County where a credible tip had come in that the defendant may be using as a hideout.

Lead investigator Barbara Gibson eventually contacted representatives with the television program America's Most Wanted in an attempt to have them to run a feature on the defendant. However, before that featured was aired, the defendant was taken into custody on July 8, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The defendant was arrested for trespassing and drug charges in New Orleans. The defendant gave police a false name when he was arrested and was eventually booked into a New Orleans jail under the false name. The following day on July 9, 2006, New Orleans authorities were notified by the FBI's fingerprint database that the defendant's true identity was Carson Alfred Washington and that he was wanted in Lynchburg, Virginia for murder. On July 12, 2006, two Lynchburg investigators flew to New Orleans to bring the defendant back to Lynchburg and to stand trial for his charges.

On February 21, 2006, after a two-day jury trial, co-defendant, Garlon Deshawn Cabler, was found guilty of eleven felony charges, including first-degree murder, for his role in the crime. A Lynchburg jury recommended that Cabler serve One Life sentence + 168 years in the penitentiary for his participation. Cabler is scheduled for formal sentencing on June 8, 2006 in Lynchburg Circuit Court.

On June 11, 2006, co-defendant Joseph Lee Hamlet is scheduled to be tried by a jury for his role in the crime. Hamlet is facing nine felony charges to include robbery, abduction, burglary, and multiple firearms charges.

Washington's sentence of One Life Sentence + 200 years imprisonment ensures that this defendant will never be able to harm anyone in the community ever again. The defendant will never be eligible for parole. The defendant will spend the rest of his life in the penitentiary.

This case was prosecuted by Deputy Commonwealth's Attorneys Chuck Felmlee and Jeff Bennett.