Antonio Lucas: Zoey Kelley Killing, Arrest, and Charges

Naqwan Antonio Lucas is an 18-year-old charged in Washington, D.C. with two counts of first-degree murder while armed: the June 30, 2025 shooting of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym and the July 4, 2025 killing of his 17-year-old girlfriend, Zoey Kelley. Lucas was captured in Maryland on October 29, 2025, after a nearly four-month manhunt, pleaded not guilty to both indictments, and is being held without bond pending a trial set to begin February 1, 2027.¹²

The 7th Street Shooting

At about 10:28 p.m. on June 30, 2025, armed suspects got out of a vehicle near 7th and M Streets in Northwest Washington and opened fire on a group of people.³ Tarpinian-Jachym, a University of Massachusetts Amherst student interning for U.S. Representative Ron Estes, was struck four times and died the next day. An adult woman and a 16-year-old boy were also wounded.⁴

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said the gunfire grew out of an altercation between two groups. Investigators concluded Tarpinian-Jachym was not the intended target but a bystander caught in the crossfire.⁴ Prosecutors say five other people were assaulted or injured during the incident.¹

The Killing of Zoey Kelley

Four days later, on July 4, 2025, at around 5:19 p.m., D.C. officers responding to a call at a home in the 1700 block of Benning Road NE found 17-year-old Zoey Kelley with a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. Police say Kelley was Lucas’s girlfriend.⁵⁶

The Manhunt and Arrest

Two other suspects in the Tarpinian-Jachym shooting were arrested on September 5, 2025, but Lucas stayed at large. In the week before his capture, the Metropolitan Police Department and FBI announced a $75,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.¹

On the night of October 29, 2025, the U.S. Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, working with a counter-gang unit and the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, tracked Lucas to a residence in Montgomery Village, Maryland. After officers knocked and announced, Lucas tried to escape by jumping out of a window. A tactical K-9 was deployed, and Lucas was injured both by the jump and by the dog. He was treated at the scene, medically cleared, and taken to the Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide branch.⁷

Charges Against Lucas

Lucas faces two separate indictments. In the Tarpinian-Jachym case (2025 CF1 14017), a grand jury returned a 16-count indictment including first-degree premeditated murder while armed, conspiracy, four counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and multiple firearms counts.¹⁸ In the Kelley case (2025 CF1 14016), he was charged by grand jury indictment with first-degree murder while armed.

Court Status and Trial Date

Lucas appeared before Judge Danya Dayson in D.C. Superior Court on October 30, 2025, pleaded not guilty to both indictments, and was ordered held without bond.¹ At a status hearing on November 7, 2025, the court set trial for February 1, 2027, with proceedings expected to last about a month.²

Co-Defendants in the Intern Case

Two other suspects were charged alongside Lucas in the Tarpinian-Jachym shooting: Kelvin Thomas Jr., 17, and Jailen Lucas, 17, who is Naqwan Lucas’s brother. Both were arrested September 5, 2025, and charged as adults under D.C.’s Title 16 statute with first-degree murder while armed, along with the same conspiracy and assault counts.¹⁸ Prosecutors allege DNA evidence connects all three defendants to the shooting, and the three are being tried together before Judge Dayson. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, investigators believe the suspects got out of a stolen vehicle and opened fire during the altercation, striking Tarpinian-Jachym and several others.⁷

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Third Suspect Charged With Murder in Slaying of Congressional Intern Also Charged With Killing Teen Girl
2
WJLA. Congressional Intern Murder Trial Date Set in Washington DC
3
Metropolitan Police Department. MPD Provides Update on 7th Street Homicide
4
ABC News. UMass Student and House Intern Dies in Washington DC Shooting
5
Metropolitan Police Department. MPD Arrests Suspect in Two Homicide Investigations
6
Fox 5 DC. Mothers Share Tearful Meeting After Man Accused of Killing Intern and Teen Girl Is Arrested
7
U.S. Marshals Service. U.S. Marshals Arrest 3rd Suspect in Congressional Intern’s Death
8
DC Witness. Prosecutor Alleges DNA Evidence Connects Co-Defendants to Congressional Intern’s Homicide