Corey D. StoddardWashington Post Kevin Lewis Crouch walked into a tow lot in Northeast Washington on Tuesday afternoon and asked about a green car. But D.C. police said the 22-year-old man quickly pulled a gun on the tow truck driver who was trying to help him and demanded money. The driver began to run but tripped and fell, police said, and Crouch struck him twice in the head with the butt of his gun. The driver then heaved his wallet against a fence in the lot on Kenilworth Avenue. As Crouch went to grab the wallet, police said, the driver climbed into his white Isuzu tow truck and then fatally struck his assailant. On Wednesday, the victim of the armed robbery became a criminal suspect, as police charged Corey D. Stoddard, 35, of Northeast Washington, with second-degree murder while armed, his tow truck being the weapon. Police said that Crouch was dragged along a sidewalk and that authorities found a pellet gun broken into three pieces under his body when they rolled him over to provide first aid. The death was ruled a homicide late Tuesday — the 104th and final slaying in the District last year.
