Seventeen-year-old Brayan Villatoro was fatally shot in an alley in the Brightwood neighborhood of Washington, D.C., on the evening of September 18, 2021. He had been riding with friends to a family party and asked to be dropped off on Nicholson Street Northwest to meet someone. After exiting the vehicle he was approached by a man who arrived in a stolen car and led him into a nearby alley; moments later multiple gunshots were fired. Villatoro was found in the alley with eight gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators focused on Mussay Rezene, then 31, as the primary suspect. Surveillance footage showed Rezene wearing distinctive clothing and shoes, and a social media photo later matched that footwear. Cell phone data placed Rezene at the scene and along the stolen car’s route. Court documents described Villatoro as a member of a gang called Street Thug Criminals and noted disputes involving that crew. Rezene was arrested on January 19, 2022, and prosecutors presented evidence at trial including conversations between Rezene and Villatoro about drugs and guns. Rezene was convicted of first-degree murder while armed in January 2024 and sentenced in March 2024 to 45 years in prison.

Did anyone know Brayan or have information about the meeting on Nicholson Street that night?