Marcel Vines and Malique Lewis Sentenced in Brutal Revenge Kidnappings and Murders

Friday, March 7, 2025

WASHINGTON – Marcel Vines, 28, and Malique Lewis, 27, both members of the violent Clay Terrace crew, were sentenced today in U.S. District Court to life plus 60 years in prison for the kidnappings and murders of two innocent victims in retaliation for a slaying in which the victims were not involved.

            The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County (MD) Police Department.

            Following a four-week trial Vines, aka “Baby Boy” or “B.Y.,” and Lewis, aka “Freak,” each were found guilty by a federal jury on August 19, 2024, of  kidnapping resulting in death; conspiracy to commit kidnapping; unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; two counts of kidnapping while armed; two counts of first degree murder while armed—felony murder with aggravating circumstances; first degree murder while armed (premeditated) with aggravating circumstances; and five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

            According to the government’s evidence at trial, Lewis and Vines conspired with a third co-defendant to kidnap and kill Armani Nico Coles and Kerrice Lewis, who has no relation to defendant Lewis, out of a desire for revenge.

            Earlier that day, a friend of Armani Coles and Kerrice Lewis had shot and killed the defendants’ friend, Ronzay Green. The defendants knew who killed Green and decided to retaliate against that man, travelling across the city to his neighborhood to look for him. At around 2 p.m., just three hours after Green’s death, they drove past a gas station where Kerrice Lewis was pumping gas into her blue Lexus. Vines recognized her and the defendants followed her as she drove away.

            At 2:45 p.m., at an AutoZone parking lot in the 900 block of Longfellow Street Northwest, the defendants kidnapped Kerrice Lewis. Armed with an assault rifle and a .45 caliber firearm, Lewis and Vines held Ms. Lewis in the backseat of her own vehicle at gunpoint to lure the man they believed had killed their friend.

            Unsuccessful, the defendants then used Ms. Lewis’ phone to lure Armani Coles to a location near First and Kennedy Streets Northwest, believing Mr. Coles could lead them to the man responsible for Green’s slaying. At approximately 6 p.m., the defendants kidnapped Nico Coles. They forced Mr. Coles into the backseat of Ms. Lewis’ car and forced Ms. Lewis into the trunk of her own car. As the defendants drove Ms. Lewis’ vehicle towards their Clay Terrace neighborhood, they encountered traffic on Interstate 295 in Maryland.

            When the defendants hit traffic on I-295, at approximately 6:20 p.m., Mr. Coles attempted to flee. The defendants shot him in the abdomen and the back—one gunshot wound from the .45 and one gunshot wound from the Draco—and then shoved his body out of the car, dragging his face along the highway asphalt as they continued to drive, ultimately pushing him onto the highway, and leaving him there to die.

            An hour later, the defendants drove Ms. Lewis’ vehicle, with Ms. Lewis still confined in her trunk, to an alley behind the 800 block of Adrian Street Southeast. The defendants then opened the trunk, shot Ms. Lewis at least 13 times, and set her remains and her vehicle on fire, before fleeing the scene.

            Analysis of the ballistic evidence from both scenes indicated that the same two firearms, a .45 caliber and a 7.62 mm caliber, were used to kill both victims. Additionally, law enforcement recovered fingerprints from an item that was pushed out of Ms. Lewis’ car along with Mr. Coles’ body. Analysis of those fingerprints identified two prints as belonging to Vines. The night after the murders, Lewis was captured on video at a McDonald’s drive-through, driving Mr. Coles’ missing vehicle. Shortly after the murders, Lewis also made statements, via text, bragging about them by sending news articles about the murders, and saying, “we ain’t done.”

            Lewis and Vines were both arrested on January 5, 2018, on unrelated charges. Shortly thereafter, Lewis was charged by Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office with the murder of Mr. Coles. In August 2018, Lewis and Vines were charged in D.C. Superior Court with both murders. The case was removed to federal court on May 23, 2019. Both defendants have been in custody since their arrest in January 2018.

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, with additional assistance provided by the United States Marshals Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberley Nielsen, George Eliopoulos, and Colleen Kukowski of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.