On the morning of October 11, 2018, police found 27-year-old Roderick Thomas inside a vehicle in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Southeast Washington, D.C., unconscious and suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arriving. Thomas, a Southeast D.C. resident known as 4 Double R, worked as a barber and was described as funny, kind, hardworking and always smiling.

Investigators tied the killing to a robbery arranged through an online marketplace. Court documents say an 18-year-old, DeAndre Houston, created a fake ad for a laptop and lured Thomas to the 3200 block of 12th Street SE. Witnesses reported seeing a man arguing with Thomas near a black Audi while holding a gun and then hearing three gunshots. A black backpack left at the scene contained a book traced to Houston; fingerprints on the book matched him. A judge found probable cause to charge Houston with first-degree murder while armed; he later pleaded guilty to a reduced count of second-degree murder while armed and was sentenced to 10 years in December 2022. It was disclosed during proceedings that Houston and an accomplice robbed Thomas of $225 and attempted to take his car, and that the accomplice fired the fatal shot when Thomas resisted.

If anyone knew Thomas, his movements that morning, or saw activity on 12th Street SE that day, please come forward with any information.