2 plead guilty to Georgetown slaying

Two ex-convicts pleaded guilty to robbing and killing an aspiring British politician last summer in Georgetown.

Christopher Piper, 26, and Jeffrey Rice, 23, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder and robbery charges in the death of Alan Senitt, whose throat was slashed July 9 as he tried to protect a female friend. Piper also pleaded guilty to a sex abuse charge, and Rice pleaded guilty to gun charges.

Each could face up to 100 years in prison at sentencing Aug. 24.

Senitt, 27, was walking a female friend home after a night at the movies when they were accosted by four suspects, prosecutors said. Piper, who had a pellet gun painted to look like a handgun, stole the woman's purse and reached inside her blouse, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty.

When Senitt tried to protect the woman, Rice stabbed him in the chest and slit his throat, Mohanty said.

A 15-year-old boy has also pleaded guilty to juvenile charges related to the case. The case against a fourth suspect is sealed, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Senitt's death came amid a spike in violence that led District of Columbia police to declare a crime emergency last July.

The two men who pleaded guilty Monday in Senitt's death also pleaded to charges in three other robberies in the weeks before the killing. Prosecutors said no one was hurt in the those cases.

Piper had been released from prison early last year after serving time for armed robbery and marijuana possession. Rice was released from jail last May after violating probation on a cocaine conviction.

Senitt, who was in Washington to study politics, had worked for Greville Janner, a member of Britain's House of Lords.