A third teenager has been arrested and charged with the killing of a congressional intern in the nation’s capital, a crime that President Donald Trump cited when he announced a law enforcement surge in Washington.
Naqwan Antonio Lucas, 18, has been indicted with first-degree murder and 15 other charges for the killing of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym of Granby, Massachusetts. Lucas pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, died a day after he was struck by stray bullets near Washington’s Mount Vernon Square the night of June 30.
Authorities last month arrested two 17-year-old suspects in the shooting, Kelvin Thomas Jr. and Jailen Lucas. They were charged as adults for first-degree murder while armed.
Prosecutors said Naqwan Lucas and Jailen Lucas are brothers.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said last month that Tarpinian-Jachym was an “innocent bystander” who wasn’t an intended target of the gunfire.
Pirro’s office said he was hit when three armed suspects left a stolen vehicle and began firing shots at two young men. Tarpinian-Jachym was shot four times. Five other people also were assaulted or injured.
Naqwan Lucas faces a second indictment for allegedly killing 17-year-old Zoey Kelly on July 4. Kelly was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head inside a storage container wrapped in bedding in a bedroom closet, prosecutors said.
Naqwan Lucas also pleaded not guilty to these charges. Online court records did not immediately identify attorneys for the suspect.
Surveillance video helped investigators identify the three suspects, police said.
Trump mentioned Tarpinian-Jachym’s killing — but not his name — during an Aug. 11 news conference where he announced a federal intervention for a “public safety emergency” in the District of Columbia.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst student was in Washington to work as a summer intern in the office of Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas.
