The man who was arrested and charged in the Nov. 14 killing of 9-year-old Oscar Fuentes has been found dead inside his cell in the D.C. Jail, according to a report from WTTG/FOX5. Josue Pena, 26, had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Fuentes, who died after being shot through the door of his Columbia Heights apartment. The Washington Post reported earlier that paramedics had been called to the jail for a call of an unconscious inmate this afternoon. WTTG says Pena was found hanged inside his cell just after 1 p.m. He was pronounced dead later at Howard University Hospital, with the cause of death determined to be cardiac arrest by asphyxiation. The report also includes these details:

Pena told prosecutors he had a gun in his waist band, but it accidently went off as he walked up the stairs.

Continue reading "Suspect in 9-Year-Old's Murder Found Dead in D.C. Jail"

MTV has posted the first trailer for The Real World DC on its web site. It includes a number of establishing shots of our fair city (including, inexplicably, an intro featuring President Barack Obama exiting Marine One to the tune of the Civil War-era song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," aka "The Ants Go Marching," ... maybe the producers confused it with "Hail to the Chief"?), and there are a couple of fun scenes showing off the D.C. locale: one of the cast members meeting Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), another playing around in the White House briefing room, that kind of thing. But most of the storylines that are teased are pretty much standard Real World fare: hook-ups, young people unsure of who they are or what they'll do with their lives, and of course, girls running around with their tops off.

President Barack Obama pardoned his first White House turkey, Courage, a little while ago. The White House has since released video of the ceremony (see below), during which Obama called Courage "a good looking bird." The president was in a joking mood, noting that "there are days when I'm reminded why I ran for this office ... and then there are days like this, when you pardon a turkey and send it Disneyland."

Lulu is bad news. Don't believe me? Just take a glance at the couch that resides immediately in front of front row, center, in Washington Shakespeare Company's production of this Nicholas Wright-penned mashed-up adaptation of two notorious Frank Wedekind plays. There you'll find the trail of broken hearts and broken bodies the seductress leaves in her wake, in the form of dead husbands — one per act of this bloody, bawdy play — forced to sit there and watch helplessly after she has heartlessly dispatched them.

MOVIE: Cormac McCarthy’s Oprah-backed mega-bestseller, The Road opens today at a handful of theatres. You can view the trailer here, and be sure to check out the rest of our holiday weekend movie picks in Popcorn & Candy.

The turkeys are coming, the turkeys are coming! Or fleeing, as is the case here. Synapped reminds us that our upcoming feast isn't great news for the turkeys.

Tune in to WAMU 88.5 FM (or listen online) today and catch DCist Editor-in-Chief Sommer Mathis as a guest on The Kojo Nnamdi Show. Sommer will bring you her expertise on everything to do this weekend in and around D.C. for those souls sticking around for the holiday. Her segment begins around 12:30 p.m.

>> Unbuckled alum Matt Grason leads his live house band, House of Soul, tonight at the Bossa Bistro & Lounge. The group features Three Stars alum Charles Ostle on drums and monster keyboardist Jon Ozment. 10 p.m. $3

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week.

The Metropolitan Police Department has released security camera images of a man wanted in a series of recent bank robberies. Police say the suspect in question may be responsible for the Nov. 21 attempted robbery of a Bank of America branch in the 3500 block of Georgia Avenue NW, and a Nov. 14 robbery of a PNC Bank branch in the 3300 block of 14th Street NW.

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend will see a number of changes to Metrorail and Metrobus schedules, so be sure to make a note of them as you try to get around the city over the next few days.

Good morning, Washington. Given that the Metro system was already unusually full by yesterday afternoon, we're guessing that D.C. is going to be a bit of a ghost town today. If you're unlucky enough to still be stuck in the office, we hope the empty halls and cubicles at least provide a peaceful day before you cut out early. Pollin Remembered: The Post has a lengthy and glowing reflection on the life and career of the just-passed Abe Pollin: sports franchise owner, philanthropist, real estate developer and longtime Washingtonian. It's nearly enough to make you forget the ridiculousness of the Wizards' name! It's worth a read, as is Harry Jaffe's brief piece on Pollin in the Examiner. Motivations for K Street Disruption Remain Unknown: As you probably remember, yesterday a man parked a van in the middle of K Street, climbed on top, demanded 200 million dollars and began throwing molotov cocktails. It was... unusual. Details on his motivation are still in short supply, but Fox 5 at least lets us know that the man's name is Kyung Song Kil, and that he said he was owed the money for "harassment." Briefly Noted: 71 year-old questioned about "bizarre kissing incidents"... Arrest made in '97 murder case thanks to enhanced surveillance tape (NBC4 claims credit)... Barry's turkey giveaway unable to meet demand... Arrest made in death of 84 year-old man... P.G. County government cancels go-go show... This Day In DCist: One year ago K Street suffered a dim-witted criminal and we offered some turkey-frying tips.

• Forbes says women in D.C. on average make more money than they do anywhere else in the country, which would be nice if this wasn't one more list that ranks the District of Columbia as it compares to states, instead of cities. But at least this is promising: "On average, women make 80% of men's earnings, but in D.C. they earn 92.2% as much as their male colleagues."
• Betsy Rothstein, former gossip writer for The Hill, is moving back to Washington to become the new co-editor of Fishbowl DC.
• Borderstan writes about a daytime robbery at 16th and U Streets, noting that of two suspects who were arrested in the crime, one had been awaiting trial on carjacking charges from Prince George’s County. 'Call me naive, but I thought carjacking probably got you thrown in jail without bail.' OK: you're naive.