Guilty Verdict in Trinidad Murders That Led to All Hands on Deck

Two Washington, D.C, men face the possibility of life in prison after being found guilty in a triple murder that led to a controversial crackdown.

The murders happened May 31, 2008, near a BP gas station at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Holbrook Street in Northeast.

William McCorckle and Andre Clinkscale, Jr. “brutally executed” Duane Hough, Johnny Jeter and Anthony Mincey, following a verbal argument outside the gas station, prosecutors said.

Hough was shot 17 times, Mincey 11 times and Jeter nine times. Each victim was unarmed.

“William McCorckle then tried to obstruct justice by threatening and intimidating witnesses in order to prevent them from cooperating with police,” U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. said in a statement.

“Today, both men were held accountable for their heinous acts of violence,” the statement continued. “Today’s verdict is a testament to this community’s refusal to allow senseless acts of violence to go unpunished.”

The murders were among at least 22 that happened in the 5th District police precinct that year.

They spawned a controversial police program in which checkpoints were set up on roads leading into the Trinidad neighborhood.

Police turned away people who didn’t have a legitimate reason to be in the neighborhood.

Those checkpoints were later ruled unconstitutional.