OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Brooke Mallory
4:01 PM – Friday, September 5, 2025
Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested and will be charged with first-degree murder for the death of a Congressional intern, who was fatally shot earlier this summer, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (D.C.) Jeanine Pirro.
Additionally, a third suspect remains at large and is actively being pursued by law enforcement.
The 17-year-olds, Jalen (or Jailen) Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr., were formally arrested on Friday and charged with first-degree murder for the death of 21-year-old Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a Congressional intern. They will be tried as adults.
Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, was an intern for Representative Ron Estes (R-Kan.). He was fatally shot while walking down the street in Northwest D.C. back in June. According to reports, he was tragically caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting between three gunmen.
Alongside Eric, a 16-year-old boy and an adult woman were also shot, with the former likely part of the group on the bikes who were being targeted, according to ABC News.
Police noted that hundreds of hours of surveillance camera footage were reviewed to identify the suspects of the shooting.
“These juveniles have prior violent juvenile records in the family court,” Pirro emphasized.
The D.C. attorney, appointed by President Donald Trump, has repeatedly emphasized this year that her office must take juvenile offenders much more seriously.
“This is why from day one, when I came here, I knew that we were missing a whole segment of criminal in D.C., in the Nation’s Capital, because the D.C. Council thinks that these kids need to be protected. They don’t need to be protected. They need to be made accountable, and we need to be protected,” she continued.
Pirro is now advocating for teenage criminals, from the ages of fourteen to 17-years-old, to be brought before criminal courts to prevent any more juvenile-perpetrated murders from transpiring in the district.
“Eric didn’t deserve to be gunned down,” Pirro declared. “And the system failed him, the system that believes that juveniles needed to be coddled.”
Representative Estes issued a statement thanking Pirro for taking decisive action in response to the killing of his intern. He praised her efforts to hold the young suspects accountable and to push for tougher measures on juvenile crime, emphasizing that addressing violence in the District is critical.
“Although nothing can reverse this horrific act of violence that took the life of a kind and bright young man, my hope is that today’s announcement will bring peace and closure to the family and friends of Eric, and all who knew and loved him,” the congressman said.
Typically, minors’ names are not released in criminal cases. But in this case, there’s an important distinction:
- Both suspects are 17 years old.
- Prosecutors are charging them as adults due to the seriousness of the crime — first-degree murder while armed with premeditation.
- In Washington, D.C., once a juvenile is charged as an adult in a violent felony case, their identity becomes part of the public record.
Under D.C. law, juveniles 15 and older can be charged as adults for certain violent felonies, like murder, armed robbery, and sexual assault.
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