Navy Corpsman Charged in Fatal Stabbing in Washington, DC

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A Navy corpsman has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a man in northwest Washington, D.C.

Navy Hospitalman 3rd Class Collin Potter, 26, assigned to The Basic School at Marine Corps Training Command in Quantico, Virginia, was arrested Sunday in the death of Vongell Lugo, 36, of Washington, according to D.C. Washington Metropolitan Police.

The police responded to a trouble call at 4:14 a.m. Sunday in an apartment complex at the 2800 block of Wisconsin Avenue, NW, and found Lugo in a hallway, suffering from multiple stab wounds. He later was determined to be deceased by D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services and transported to the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

According to a police incident report, Potter was present at the scene. After detectives developed probable cause to arrest him, he was charged with first-degree murder while armed.

The charge was downgraded Monday to second-degree murder while armed at a hearing in D.C. Superior Court.

During a presentation Monday on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's goals in 2019, Police Chief Peter Newsham referred to the case as a "domestic homicide." He later told the Washington Blade newspaper that investigators believe Lugo and Potter were in a relationship.

The incident was first reported by Navy Times.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at patricia.kime@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

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