FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 18, 2023

Incident Occurred in June 2023

            WASHINGTON – Michael Caldwell, 28, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to stabbing a man to death on June 4, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Caldwell pleaded guilty on August 14, 2023, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed. The Honorable Marybeth Raffinan accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for October 16, 2023.

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 4, 2023, at approximately 11:30 p.m., the defendant, Michael Caldwell, and the victim, Damien Thompson, engaged in a verbal argument in the street in front of 4305 Halley Ter SE, Washington, D.C. At one point the victim threw a bottle at Caldwell, at which point Caldwell removed a knife from his pants. The two men continued to verbally argue for approximately 45 seconds, at which point the victim attempted to strike Caldwell with a plastic chair. Caldwell lunged at the victim and stabbed him in the chest, causing the victim to fall to the ground unconscious. Caldwell then proceeded to stab the victim eight more times in the torso before walking away from the scene.

            The victim, Damien Thompson, sustained nine stab wounds to the torso and died a short time later. Caldwell was arrested the next day by the Metropolitan Police Department. He has been in custody ever since. 

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Karina Hernandez and Lead Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hall, who investigated and prosecuted the case.