In the predawn hours of Saturday, June 8, 2019, multiple gunshots were reported on the 800 block of Crittenden Street NW in Petworth, Washington, D.C. Police arriving just after 12:58 a.m. found a man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was identified as 46-year-old Bryant McClain, a man with no fixed address, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Metropolitan Police Department opened a homicide investigation and offered a reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. In March 2020, authorities arrested 29-year-old Davon Patterson and charged him with first-degree murder while armed. Prosecutors relied on testimony from several witnesses who identified Patterson as the shooter and on video showing a person running from the scene after the gunfire. A judge later found there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial, describing that decision as a close call.

Searches of Patterson’s residence turned up two firearms and PCP, but forensic testing showed neither gun was the murder weapon, and no DNA or fingerprints at the scene matched Patterson; his attorney argued the identifications were hearsay. By December 2021 Patterson had been indicted on first-degree murder while armed and related firearm charges and remained in custody awaiting further proceedings. Did anyone in Petworth see or hear something that could help clarify what happened that night?