Washington, D.C. – Twenty-seven-year-old Reginald Bryson, also known as Reginald Muschette, of the 700 block of Rock Creek Church Road, NW, Washington, D.C., has been found guilty of first degree murder while armed and related offenses for his role in the January 2004 triple shooting in Northwest Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Bryson was found guilty late yesterday by a Superior Court jury of First Degree Murder while Armed, two counts of Assault with Intent to Kill while Armed, Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, Carrying a Pistol without a License, Obstructing Justice, and Threats in connection with the triple shooting. Sentencing is scheduled for September 12, 2008. At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of more than 100 years of imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum of 48 years in prison.

According to the evidence elicited at the trial, on January 19, 2004, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Holiday, at approximately 3:18 p.m., 17-year-old Franklin Smith, who was accompanied by two friends, was driving a brown Chrysler Lebaron in the 400 block of Taylor Street, NW, when he passed a champagne Mazda Protégé that was occupied by Bryson, who was armed with two pistols, and driven by his cousin, Terrence Stroman. Bryson suddenly directed his cousin Stroman to drive to the 400 block of Shepherd Street, NW, where the defendant laid in waiting for Franklin Smith’s Chrysler Lebaron to enter that block. As Franklin Smith passed the defendant, the defendant ambushed Franklin Smith and his two passengers by opening fire on their car. Franklin Smith suffered a gunshot to his head killing him almost instantly. Smith’s two passengers were also shot; but, fortunately, they survived their injuries.

The investigation into this triple shooting was extensive. The Fourth District Focus Mission Unit recovered the murder weapon during the execution of a search warrant at the home of a known associate of Reginald Bryson ten days following the shooting. Moreover, based on an eyewitness’s partial tag of the getaway car, police corroborated, with the assistance of the Maryland Vehicle Administration, Stroman’s possession of the vehicle. During this investigation, it was discovered that Bryson attempted to silence a witness against him through threats and intimidation.

In announcing yesterday’s verdicts, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised the outstanding work of Metropolitan Police Department Violent Crime Branch Detectives Christopher Kauffman, Robert Alder, Kimberly Lawrence, Harbin Combee, and Lee Littlejohn; and Forensic Science Division Technicians Dwayne Mitchell, Valerie Campbell, David Murray, and Charles Egan. He also commended the exceptional work of Fourth District Officers Kristen Thorne, Lucius Kearney, Michael Eames, and Anthony Attardo; Narcotics and Special Investigations Division Detective Earl Delauder and Officers Joseph Abdalla, Michael Iannacchione, and Darrick Wallace; Fifth District Sergeant Thomas Fontz; and Deputy U.S. Marshal Patrick Brennan. Finally, he recognized the tremendous and relentless work of the many members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegals Lenney Lowe, Anthony Griffith, and Richard Cheatham; Legal Assistant Doloris Young; Litigation Support Specialists Joe Calvares, Thomas Royal, Kimberly Smith, and Errol Spears; and Victim/Witness Advocates Yvonne Bryant and Katina Adams; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle D. Jackson and Courtney Spivey who prosecuted the case.