A 29-year-old man was sentenced to 53 years in prison for murdering his roommate by shooting him in the head as he left for work in the West End.
Dontae Lashaun Drumgold was convicted in May of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a murder in the 2022 death of 25-year-old Elijah Williams. On Thursday (Jan. 9), he was sentenced to 60 years for the first degree murder charge, with 10 years suspended, and three years for the use of a firearm charge. After his release he will undergo five years of supervised probation and must exhibit uniform good behavior for 10 years.
“The lengthy sentence in this sentence is appropriate, given the defendant’s premeditation and planning,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter said in a statement. “My thoughts go out to the victim’s family, who lost a loved one to violence over a mere dispute over rent. This was a complicated investigation and I sincerely appreciate the hard work of the Alexandria police detectives and the Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys who handled the matter.”
Williams was shot from a distance as he walked out of his apartment building in the 4500 block of Raleigh Avenue at around 5:45 a.m. on March 25, 2022. Drumgold later told police that he’d not seen his roommate in several days and was asleep all morning. A forensic analysis of his phone revealed that he was, in fact, awake at the time of the incident.
Drumgold was arrested more than a month later in a neighboring jurisdiction.
Before the shooting, Drumgold failed to pay rent that month and was told that legal action was going to be taken against him, according to court records.
The Commonwealth admitted text messages between Drumgold and Williams into evidence revealing that the latter was refusing to cover Drumgold’s rent. Drumgold’s journal was also admitted, showing that he fantasized about murdering someone by shooting them in the head.
Drumgold and Williams were served with a notice that eviction proceedings would start against them on March 23 if the rent wasn’t paid. Williams was shot and killed on the morning of March 23, and Drumgold told police that he was frustrated that he was still expected to pay his portion of the rent despite the death of his roommate.
Police also found hundreds of rounds of .22 caliber bullets, a gun cleaning kit and bullet holes in the wall of Drumgold’s room, according to court records.
According to the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office:
In one journal entry admitted during trial, the defendant wrote, “Are they playing with your time or happiness? There are multiple ways to solve these issues. I prefer a bullet to the head, it typically does the trick, but see, the game is only fun if you don’t get caught. Understand getting caught is a life sentence, but getting away is an entirely different feeling.”
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Meredith Burke and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jessica Best Smith.
