Evergreen Reporter

Eugene Burns, a 32-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a Superior Court jury for the first-degree murder of his best friend and related firearm offenses. Alongside him, Tyre Allen, 24, also from Washington, D.C., was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice in connection with the case. The verdicts were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves.

Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo has scheduled sentencing for both defendants on January 31, 2025. Burns could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while Allen could receive up to 30 years.

The jury reached its decision after a five-week trial in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. On October 24, 2024, they convicted Burns of first-degree murder while armed and additional firearm charges. Four days later, both Burns and Allen were found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice and other related charges.

Burns had previously been convicted in 2017 for murdering Onyekachi Emmanuel Osuchukwu III but successfully appealed the conviction in 2020. Following this reversal, Burns and his cousin Tyre Allen conspired to influence a witness to sign a false affidavit recanting previous testimony against Burns.

The incident occurred on November 14, 2015, when Burns lured Osuchukwu to an apartment on the 2900 block of 2nd Street Southeast in Washington, D.C., where he shot him four times. Evidence presented at trial indicated that Burns had planned the murder several days in advance.

The investigation was conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch with support from the ATF Washington Division and investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistant United States Attorneys Charles R. Jones and Sharon Donovan prosecuted the case.