WASHINGTON - A 41-year-old District of Columbia man, Gregory Holmes, has been sentenced to 38 years in prison for the September 2006 fatal stabbing of Steven Hartung, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Holmes, of the 4000 block of 8th Street, SE, Washington, D.C., was sentenced earlier today in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before the Honorable Russell Canan. On July 11, 2008, a jury found Holmes guilty of numerous charges, including felony murder and robbery.

The evidence at trial established that Holmes attempted to sell fake crack cocaine to the decedent on September 4, 2006, in the 4300 block of Wheeler Road, SE, Washington, D.C. (PSA 706). When the decedent realized the drugs were fake, he returned the package to Holmes and walked away. Holmes followed the decedent, grabbed him from behind and stabbed him in the chest. The knife penetrated 6-7 inches into the decedent’s body, killing the decedent within minutes.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor commended the following Metropolitan Police Department officers for their work on the case: lead Detective Steven McDonald, Detectives James Broadbent, Dwayne Corbett, and Al Batton, Officers Todd Perkins and Ravi Hiller, and Mobile Crime Officer Leother Strong. Mr. Taylor also commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth Waxman, who tried the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Klein, who indicted the case.