A manhunt is still underway for a third suspect in the murder of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, as police released the mugshots of the other two suspects who were arrested last week.
The two 17-year-olds. Kelvin Thomas Jr., of Southeast D.C., and Jailen Lucas, of Northwest D.C., were arrested for the June shooting death of the 21-year-old University of Massachusetts Amherst student who also served as an intern for Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS).
After keeping the booking photos sealed for the last months, they were made public over the weekend.
(Video Credit: ABC 7)
“The two were arrested Friday and charged as adults with premeditated first-degree murder while armed,” Fox News reported. “Police are also searching for Naqwan Antonio Lucas, 18, of Granby, Massachusetts, who is wanted on a D.C. Superior Court warrant for premeditated first-degree murder while armed.”
Tarpinian-Jachym was an “innocent bystander who was caught in a violent act that was not meant for him,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said.
Today, my office announced the arrests in the killing of Capitol Hill intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym. These arrests give Eric’s loved ones some sense of peace as they continue to grieve a tremendous loss. pic.twitter.com/rU0MMqkBVA
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) September 5, 2025
“These young punks who are on the streets with guns, shooting at each other, killing innocent people, they need to be brought into my system and not in the family court system for rehabilitation because they’ve been in that system more than once, and I don’t think they’ve been rehabilitated,” Pirro said.
Investigators believe that the young intern was not the intended victim of the suspects who “exited an abruptly stopped stolen vehicle and began firing north on 7th Street NW at two young men who jumped from a bicycle” in the June 30 attack, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Investigators suspect that they were firing at these young men, believing that they were from an opposition neighborhood,” the press release noted, as a woman and a 16-year-old boy were also injured in the shooting spree.
A family relative helped identify two of the teens, according to court documents.
“MPD offers a standard $25,000 reward for information leading to a D.C. homicide conviction. In this case, the FBI’s Washington Field Office has added $15,000, and the U.S. Marshals Service $10,000, raising the total reward for Naqwan Lucas to $50,000,” Fox News reported.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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