Jonathan Hernandez

Do you know who killed Jonathan Hernandez in 2019?
A late spring afternoon in Northeast Washington, D.C., was violently disrupted by a spray of bullets that claimed the life of a young man. Jonathan Hernandez, a 25-year-old Hispanic man from Southeast D.C., was fatally shot on Saturday, May 18, 2019. The brazen attack took place around 5:24 p.m. in the 100 block of T Street, NE, a residential area in the Eckington neighborhood, not far from McKinley Technology High School. While little has been shared publicly about Jonathan’s life, a street shrine with candles was created in his memory on T Street in the weeks after his death, a quiet testament to the loss felt by those who knew him.

On the day of the incident, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Fifth District responded to reports of gunshots. When they arrived on the scene, they found two victims. Jonathan Hernandez was unconscious and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel transported him to a local hospital, but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead. A second adult male was also found at the location with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The shooting stunned the neighborhood. Witnesses reported hearing dozens of shots fired in rapid succession. A resident’s security camera captured audio of the gunfire and video of a white van speeding away from the scene. Investigators with the MPD’s Homicide Branch began searching for three to four male suspects. The vehicle was described as a white work van, possibly a Ford E-150, with a black bumper and grill and noticeable damage to the driver's side. Several witnesses told reporters that the van had seemed suspicious and out of place in the neighborhood before the shooting. In the aftermath, streets in the area, including Summit Place NE and Todd Place NE, were blocked off for the investigation.

The violence prompted a response from the community, with the Eckington Civic Association publicly calling on the mayor and other city officials to address the safety concerns. The Metropolitan Police Department offered a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals responsible for Jonathan Hernandez's murder.

Months later, the investigation led to a significant development. On Wednesday, December 4, 2019, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 49-year-old John Fenner of Northeast, D.C., based on a DC Superior Court arrest warrant. Fenner was charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with Jonathan’s death.

Following his arrest, Fenner appeared in court. During a hearing on December 17, 2019, a D.C. Superior Court judge ordered that Fenner be released from jail and placed on home confinement with GPS monitoring. The terms of his release included an initial 15-day period of home confinement, followed by a nightly curfew. He was permitted to go to work and make two shopping trips per week. As of his pending felony status conference scheduled for June 2020, the final outcome of the charges against John Fenner is not publicly available. The case remains a painful memory for the community, and police have asked anyone with information to contact them at 202-727-9099 or by texting 50411.