A Virginia man, aged 29, has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for the murder of his 25-year-old roommate, Elijah Williams. The sentencing of Dontae Lashaun Drumgold was handed down by a state judge last Thursday. Drumgold was convicted in May on charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The case was marked by the discovery of journal entries by Drumgold, which revealed his fantasies about fatally shooting someone. The severity of the sentence reflects the premeditation and planning involved in the crime, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter. Porter expressed his condolences to the victim’s family, who lost a loved one over a dispute about rent.
The Alexandria Police Department reported that officers responded to a shooting at a residential apartment building on Raleigh Avenue on the morning of March 23, 2022. Upon arrival, they found Williams outside the building with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later confirmed the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head from a small caliber bullet, ruling the death a homicide.
Drumgold was arrested approximately a month after the incident and was subsequently indicted by a grand jury on the murder and firearm charges. Investigators found evidence suggesting that Drumgold was discontented with his living situation and had knowledge of Williams’ whereabouts outside their shared apartment, as reported by local news outlet Alexandria Now.
Court documents revealed text messages on Drumgold’s phone indicating his anger and desire to terminate the lease in the days leading up to the murder. Prosecutors argued that Drumgold, aware of Williams’ regular work schedule, waited outside their building on the morning of March 23rd and shot Williams as he was leaving for work.
Text exchanges between the two roommates showed that Williams had refused to pay Drumgold’s share of the rent, leading to eviction proceedings if they failed to pay by March 23, 2022, the same day Williams was killed. Following Williams’ death, Drumgold reportedly expressed annoyance about still being responsible for his half of the rent.
During the trial, prosecutors presented entries from Drumgold’s personal journal, which contained disturbing content, including his desire to kill someone by shooting them in the head. One entry read, “I prefer a bullet to the head, it typically does the trick, but see, the game is only fun if you don’t get caught.” Upon his release, Drumgold will be required to serve five years of probation.