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After spending more than 25 years in prison for a murder conviction, the 47-year-old District man is likely heading back to prison after being convicted by a jury of drug and weapon offenses, federal officials announced.
The convict was previously released under the DC Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act after serving more than 25 years for first-degree murder.
Less than a year after he was released, members of the Metropolitan Police Department investigating an unrelated homicide arrested him for possession of firearms, ammunition, and drugs.
According to prosecutors, in October 2021, MPD officers executed a search warrant on 35th Street NE, banging on the door and shouting “Police! Search Warrant! Open the door!” then “Search Warrant! Open the door!” before making their way into the apartment.
When no one answered, they forced their where in, where they spotted Tatum walking out of a bathroom wearing only shorts and slippers.
Inside that bathroom, investigators say officers found packets of cocaine base and fentanyl on the floor, inside the toilet bowl and toilet tank, evidence which Tatum later admitted that he was trying to flush.
More fentanyl was found inside Tatum's vehicle outside the apartment, and during a search of the apartment, officers recovered a loaded .45 caliber Glock magazine.
Tatum was convicted this week by a federal jury of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, both felonies.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
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