Jasper Spires: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Jasper Spires, Kevin Sutherland, DC Metro stabbing

Jasper Spires, left, is wanted for murder in the stabbing of Kevin Sutherland. (D.C. Metro Police/Facebook)

A Washington, D.C. teen is accused of stabbing a 24-year-old political strategist and recent American University graduate in a brazen midday attack on a Metro train on the Fourth of July.

Jasper Spires, 18, was arrested Monday morning and charged with first-degree murder while armed, police told the Washington Post.

The victim, Kevin Sutherland, was pronounced dead at the NOMA-Gallaudet Metro Station, where the train was stopped when the stabbing occurred, police said.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. Spires Was Arrested Thursday on an Unrelated Assault Charge & Released Friday

Jasper Spires

Spires mugshot from a previous arrest. (D.C. Metro Police Department)

Spires was previously arrested on a charge of robbery using force and violence in Northwest Washington on July 2, the Washington Post reports.

According to D.C. police records, Spires, 18, was arrested Thursday on an unrelated charge of robbery using force and violence in Northwest Washington.

Court records show that he was released Friday, July 3, after the charges were reduced to two misdemeanors, simple assault and assault on a police officer.

According to the Post, a police report shows that Spires reached for a man and said “What do you have in your pockets?” He then grabbed the victim by the enck and pushed him against a wall, police said in the report. He was arrested about five minutes later.

“We are going to look into that investigation and see what happened,” Police Chief Cathy Lanier said. “It seemed like a solid case. Obviously, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will be looking at it as well.”

Spires was taken into custody on Monday morning and charged with Sutherland’s death.


2. Police Believe the July Fourth Attack Occurred During a Random Robbery Attempt

Jasper Spires

Spires. (Facebook)

Police told the Washington Post that the stabbing occurred during a random robbery attempt.

The stabbing occurred while the train was in the NOMA-Gallaudet Metro Station, police said, which is in the 200 block of Florida Avenue, Northeast.

Police said EMTs “found no signs of life,” when they located Sutherland.


3. Spires Was a Recent High School Graduate & Was a Community College Student

Spires graduated from Woodrow Wilson Senior High School and was accepted into Louisburg College, a two-year residential college in North Carolina, as part of its class of 2016.


4. Sutherland Was a Digital Strategist at a D.C. Firm

Kevin Sutherland

Kevin Sutherland.(Facebook)

Sutherland was working as a digital strategist for New Blue Interactive in D.C., according to his LinkedIn profile.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the loss of our dear employee and friend Kevin Sutherland,” New Blue Interactive said in a statement on its Facebook page. “We are heartbroken to hear of his passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family during this difficult time.

Sutherland said on his website, “I am a millennial proudly living and working in our nation’s capital. I’m passionate about politics and technology and have extensive skills in social media, graphic design, web design, video and photography. I’m driven to use these talents to effect political change and improve our world.”


5. He Was a Former Congressional Intern Originally From Connecticut

Kevin Sutherland

(Facebook)

Sutherland was a native of Trumbull, Connecticut, and a 2013 graduate of American University, where he was active in the student government. He was also an intern for Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes twice during his time in college.

Sasha Gilthorpe, the current president of the university’s student government said in a statement:

Kevin Sutherland was truly the best of us. He was incredibly kind. He was utterly and completely devoted to his friends. He used his intelligence and his talents to be a champion for what he believed in. We are all better for knowing Kevin.

Himes posted a tribute to Sutherland on Twitter and changed his profile picture to one of him with his former intern:

He told the Washington Post that Sutherland grew up in a family where politics was a major topic of discussion. His father, Douglas Sutherland, was a candidate for state representative last year and has helped organize events for Himes’ campaigns in the past.

“He was really shy but really politically attuned kid,” Himes told the Post. “He was about as gentle a soul as they come.”