Daron Dylon Wint, suspected in the killings of a Northwest D.C. couple, their young son and their housekeeper, was captured Thursday night in Northeast, bringing a manhunt that stretched as far as New York City to a close.
Members of the Capital Area Fugitive Task Force had tracked Mr. Wint to a hotel in College Park and followed him and four others as they drove into the District late Thursday in a Chevrolet Cruze and a rented box truck. With a helicopter watching from overhead, the team blocked the Chevy Mr. Wint was traveling in with their own cars and members swooped in with guns drawn to order him and others out of the two vehicles.
Cmdr. Rob Fernandez, who heads the task force, said the arrest was made without any injuries. In addition to Mr. Wint, two men and two women were also taken into custody at the scene near 10th and Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast.
A large amount of cash was also reportedly found in the box truck.
“I think the were completely surprised,” Cmdr. Fernandez said. “They submitted immediately.”
Mr. Wint is expected to be appear in D.C. Superior Court Friday afternoon. It was unclear whether the others taken into custody were also arrested or if they might face charges related to the quadruple homicide.
SEE ALSO: D.C. murder suspect Daron Wint threatened own family, documents show
Mr. Wint is charged with first-degree murder in the killings of Savvas Savopoulos; his wife, Amy; their 10-year-old son, Philip; and their housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa.
According to police, his DNA was found on the remnants of pizza delivered to the Savopoulos home by Domino’s on the night of May 13. Police believe Mr. Wint held the family captive that night.
Mr. Savopoulos’ personal assistant reportedly dropped off a package containing $40,000 at the home the following morning. The Savopoulos family’s multimillion dollar house went up in flames hours later. The victims, who had suffered blunt force trauma and stab wounds, were found by responding firefighters.
In a statement released Friday by a public relations firm, the Savopoulos family thanked law enforcement and firefighters.
“While it does not abate our pain, we hope that it begins to restore a sense of calm and security to our neighborhood and to our city,” the family said.
Officials had been searching for Mr. Wint in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday. Authorities tracked him to an apartment there but Cmdr. Fernandez said when officer hit the location, they had “just missed him.” It was believed that Mr. Wint had taken a bus to the New York area and had stayed at the apartment for several days. Cmdr. Fernandez said Mr. Wint was believed to have been driven back to the D.C. area Thursday morning.
Mr. Wint, who has previously been convicted of second-degree assault and been the subject of four protective orders in Maryland, previously worked for Hyattsville-based American Iron Works, a company owned by Mr. Savopoulos.
Despite the speculation about a robbery motive due to the cash delivery to the home, police have not provided a possible motive for Mr. Wint to have killed his ex-employer.
• Victor Morton contributed to this report.
• Jay LeBlanc can be reached at jleblanc@washingtontimes.com.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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