A Suburban Hospital employee who was once before accused of killing a co-worker has been charged with slaying the hospital supervisor who recently gave him a poor performance review by stabbing him more than 70 times. Montgomery County police chief Thomas Manger said Thursday that 49-year-old Keith D. Little, of Lanham, was charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 1 killing of Roosevelt Brockington Jr. in the Bethesda hospital’s basement boiler room.
Brockington, 40, was the hospital’s lead engineer and Little’s direct supervisor. Brockington had recently reprimanded Little several times and denied him a raise in a performance review, according to police officials and court documents.
Thursday wasn’t the first time Little has been charged with killing a colleague. D.C. Superior Court records show he was charged in the 2003 slaying of a fellow maintenance worker for Realty Management Associates, but was found not guilty in a jury trial.
| Timeline: Two cases against Kieth Little |
| » Feb. 3, 2003: Gordon Rollins is shot to death in the District |
| » Nov. 28, 2005: A warrent is issued for Little’s arrest in connection with Rollins death. |
| » Dec. 28 2005: Little is arrested. |
| » March 28, 2006: A grand dury indicts Little on second degree murder and weapons charges. |
| » June 26, 2006: A.D.C. Superior Court jury finds Little not guilty. |
| » June 1 2011: Roosevelt Brockington Jr. is stabbed to death at Surburban Hospital. |
| » Jan. 6, 2011: Little is charged with first degree murder in Brockington’s death. |
Police were tipped off to Little’s alleged role in Brockington’s death when another hospital employee called authorities at about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday to say that someone had poured water treated with chemicals in a bucket that contained a black ski mask and black gloves. When the co-worker examined the bucket, Little grabbed it and said, “I’ll take care of this,” according to court documents. Surveillance video showed him hiding the mask and gloves in a trash can, police said.
The boiler room is a secure area where only people with a key can gain access, authorities said.
A friend of Brockington was on the phone with him around 9:45 a.m. Saturday and heard a man yell at Brockington, “Give me your money,” and “You got any more?,” court records say. The friend heard Brockington ask the man not to hurt him, then scream several times before the phone went silent.
The friend then contacted Brockington’s parents, who alerted hospital security and the police. The slaying prompted a four-hour lockdown at the hospital’s Bethesda campus.
There had been no “overt incidents” between Brockington and Little before the killing, said Capt. David Gillespie of Montgomery County police’s major crimes division. But there were enough issues between them that authorities think tensions related to the denied pay raise — not robbery — provided motivation for the attack.
The number of stab wounds indicated that the killing was “associated with an anger-retalitation homicide and not a robbery,” court records say.
A jury acquitted Little in 2006 of second-degree murder while armed and other offenses relating to the February 2003 killing of Gordon Rollins.
Little had been accused of shooting Rollins six times outside the door to the maintenance office of the Columbia Heights apartment building where they worked, according to charging documents in the case. Shortly before the shooting, the documents say, Rollins had told Little’s boss that Little was stealing from the organization and was entering apartments without permission.
Court records indicate Little has a history of violence that predates the charges in the Rollins slaying. He was sent to prison in 1986 after a D.C. jury found him guilty of assault with intent to kill, assault with intent to rob, obstruction of justice and simple assault in a 1984 attack. He was sentenced to 10 to 30 years, but federal prison records show he was released in 1992 after serving about six years.
Suburban CEO Brian Gragnolati said in a prepared statement that Brockington’s slaying was a “tragic death” and that authorities believe the killing was an isolated incident “specific to the individuals.” He did not answer questions about Little.
Scott McCabe contributed to this report. [email protected]
