Two teenage boys have been arrested in a violent robbery that left a beloved DJ dead, authorities in Washington, D.C. announced Friday.
The two suspects, a 14-year-old and 16-year-old, are accused of carrying out a series of robberies in Northwest D.C. in the early hours of Oct. 27 — including one that caused the death of Bryan Smith, a popular DJ described as a “pillar in the DC queer and nightlife communities.”
Authorities responded to the 500 block of T St. Northwest around 5 a.m. after reports of a man found unconscious. The victim, later identified as Smith, was transported to a local hospital for treatment of critical injuries.
Smith, aka The Barber Streisand, had just performed at HellBENT, an event at the popular 9:30 Club in Northwest D.C. He was later found near a gay bar named Uproar, The Advocate reported.
Investigators determined he had been attacked and robbed by two suspects while walking the block.
Smith “suffered immense trauma to his head,” according to a GoFundMe set up by some of his friends, who were hoping to raise money to help pay for his recovery.
Unfortunately, Smith wasn’t able to recover. He died from his injuries less than two weeks later.
On Friday, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith announced the arrest of two suspects in the string of robberies. They’ve both been charged with three counts of robbery, one count of assault with intent to commit robbery and related charges. They have not been charged with murder at this time.
Their arrest follows two weeks of “around-the-clock” investigations, police said.
“[Detectives] canvassed a wide area around each offense, uncovering video footage critical to identifying the suspects,” Assistant Chief Ramey Kyle said Friday at a press conference.
“We were also able to track cellphones taken in the robberies and monitor transactions made on stolen credit cards. All those efforts paid off early Thursday morning when our investigators closed in on a 14-year-old suspect,” who was found asleep in a stolen car, Kyle said.
The 16-year-old was also arrested on Thursday.
According to Kyle, “additional charges may be brought depending on the results of additional testing requested by the Northern Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office.”
