Source: United States Department of Justice News
WASHINGTON – Collin Potter, 30, of Quantico, Va., was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for fatally stabbing Vongell Lugo, of Washington, D.C., in Lugo’s apartment in the Upper Northwest neighborhood of Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
On February 3, 2023, Potter pleaded guilty to second degree murder while armed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
According to the government’s evidence, on Sunday, January 6, 2019, at approximately 4:00 a.m., after meeting at a bar, Potter and Lugo were alone together in Lugo’s apartment on Wisconsin Ave., N.W., in Washington, D.C. The defendant, unprovoked, attacked Lugo after grabbing one of Lugo’s kitchen knives. He stabbed and cut Lugo 42 times in the head, neck, and torso. Lugo yelled for help and his cries woke two of his neighbors, both of whom called 911 around 4:14 a.m. Potter then attempted to clean the knife in the kitchen sink. Around 4:20 a.m., the defendant, an active duty Navy sailor, pulled Lugo’s naked body out into the hallway. MPD officers discovered Lugo’s body and the defendant, who was standing naked, uninjured, and covered in Lugo’s blood. They arrested Potter and he has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Karina Hernandez. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nebiyu Feleke, Christian Natiello, and Peter V. Roman, and Deputy Chief Laura Bach, who investigated and prosecuted the case.