Police do not believe George Sydnor Jr. knew the woman he is charged with killing. Authorities say he was wanted for missing court dates in other cases.
a local rewrite of the District’s criminal code, in part over concerns that it would have lowered the statutory maximum penalty for certain crimes, such as carjacking. Supporters of the revised code say the move was an inappropriate intrusion on D.C.'s governance of itself and have noted that federal authorities, including the U.S.
Sydnor was accused of approaching a woman sitting in her car in Southeast Washington in October — brandishing a firearm and demanding that she exit the vehicle and give him her keys and cellphone, according to charging documents. He later pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, a reduction from his initial charge of armed robbery.In January, prosecutors agreed to Sydnor’s release from jail before sentencing, though he was subject to high-intensity supervision. The U.S. attorney’s office in D.C.
Soon after his release, Sydnor appeared in court in Maryland for a hearing about a separate larceny charge. He was supposed to report back to D.C. court to receive a GPS monitoring device, which he should have worn until his February sentencing date. Instead, after appearing in court in Prince George’s County on Jan. 13, Sydnor stopped showing up for his court appointments, records show. By the morning of March 31, records show, there were two warrants out for his arrest — one from D.C. and one from Prince George’s County. The Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office said Monday night it was looking into the case.Later that day, just before 6:45 p.m., surveillance footage captured him pulling into the Ivy City Hotel parking lot.
Sydnor dismounted, according to charging documents, and appeared to listen at the hotel door. Surveillance footage showed him leaning back and stepping into Room 116.