Slain Metro driver had violent past; agency hiring practices questioned
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
March 11, 2009
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| Jelani Khalid Slay, right, was fatally shot Sunday when detectives said he tried to rob an off-duty officer. Slay, a Metrobus driver, was not the only employee with a violent record. |
The Metrobus driver slain in an encounter with an off-duty D.C. police officer had a violent past that included being charged with two killings and a 10-year prison term for armed robbery.
Just two months after Jelani Khalid Slay was released from federal prison on robbery and gun charges, he was hired by Metro to drive a city bus.
On Sunday morning, Slay was fatally shot when detectives said he tried to rob the off-duty officer. Police said Slay may have been involved in another robbery earlier that morning. The shooting is under review by police and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Slay’s family doubts the police department’s version, telling The Washington Post that the 34-year-old wouldn’t need to rob anybody because he had a good-paying job as a Metrobus driver.
But a review of D.C. court records indicates that Slay had a violent past as a young man with at least two felony convictions and arrests in two different homicides.
A criminal record doesn’t necessarily rule out a person from being hired to drive a bus for Metro, officials said.
That was illustrated recently when bus driver Shawn Brim was charged with punching out a police officer who was dressed as McGruff the Crime Dog. Brim had earlier gun and drug arrests on his record. Prosecutors dropped the charges in both cases. He was fired after police charged him with assault.
The episodes have caused some to question whom Metro is putting behind the wheel of city buses.
“It looks like Metro failed in this case to protect the public,” said Gregory Wims, head of the Victims’ Rights Foundation. “Metro is there to serve the public, to transport citizens in a safe manner with responsible drivers.”
Metro officials said they ran a background check on Slay. The agency said it wouldn’t hire applicants within three years of a felony conviction, or those with two convictions within the last 10 years.
“Metro takes the safety of our riders and bus operators very seriously,” spokeswoman Angela Gates said.
Slay’s criminal background met the agency’s parameters. His convictions were more than a decade before his hiring.
In 1992, a D.C. grand jury indicted him on 11 counts in connection with the robbery and shooting death of two men in the Eckington section of Northeast Washington.
Slay was 17 years old at the time. Because he was a juvenile, the disposition of his case is not available. But the charging documents described a gruesome crime.
Prosecutors said Slay planned an armed robbery, then drove three men to a home on the 100 block of U Street. While Slay stayed in his car, the men, who had been armed by Slay, broke inside and handcuffed Kevin Sayles and Steven Holmes, documents said. Sayles and Holmes were robbed, then shot to death, according to charging documents.
The next month, Slay was arrested on voluntary-manslaughter charges in an unrelated case. Police said he and another young man drew weapons on each other at 11th and Lamont streets NW. Slay fired first, hitting Tyrone Britton, then shot him five more times, according to charging documents. The grand jury did not indict Slay, and the case was dropped.
In August 1992, Slay was indicted on gun, cocaine and marijuana charges, and pleaded guilty to distribution of cocaine.
Two years later, on July 3, 1994, police said Slay grabbed a man by his belt, robbed him of his money and jewelry, then turned his gun on a second victim. Slay pleaded guilty to robbery and carrying a pistol without a license and was sentenced to five to 15 years.
He was released from the federal prison system Jan. 1, 2007.
Two months later, Slay was hired as a Metrobus operator. Slay was going to celebrate two years with the transit authority today.
Staff Writer Kytja Weir contributed to this report.
