WASHINGTON - A 20-year-old Southeast District of Columbia man, Dewayne A. Shorter, was sentenced today by Superior Court Judge Robert I. Richter to 82 months in prison for a violent shooting, and assault on a police officer that he committed on August 25, 2006, in the 2300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced.

Shorter was initially indicted by a grand jury on separate counts, and on September 2, 2008, he pled guilty to three felonies, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Assault on a Police Officer, and Carrying a Pistol without a License. Shorter, of the 2000 block of Naylor Road, SE, Washington, D.C., was sentenced all three charges to a total of 82 months incarceration, to be followed by three (3) years of supervised release.

According to the government’s evidence and the defendant’s admitted conduct, on August 25, 2006, the defendant participated in a violent assault of an unarmed minor with several of his friends in the 2300 block of Pennsylvania Ave., SE. The minor, who knew Shorter from being in the same school, tried to escape the assault by fleeing into oncoming traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue. Shorter then pulled out a pistol and shot three times at the unarmed minor, hitting him once in the buttocks.

A Metropolitan Police Department detective assigned to the Homicide Section saw the shooting, and pursued Shorter. Shorter fled the area with another associate into the 2300 bock of Nicholson Street, SE, where the detective again saw Shorter, and ordered him to stop. Shorter refused and ran again into an alleyway with his gun drawn. As the detective ran after Shorter into the alley, Shorter dropped his gun. The detective ordered Shorter not to pick up the gun, but Shorter picked up the gun and pointed it at the detective. The detective, fearing for his life, shot at Shorter, but missed him and hit Shorter’s associate in the leg. Shorter then dropped the gun and fled the area. The detective broke off pursuit of Shorter and stopped to help provide medical assistance to Shorter’s associate. The shooting by the detective was subsequently investigated and determined to be justified.

In announcing today’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised the work of Metropolitan Police Department Detectives Daniel Lewis, Bryan Kasul, Manuel Gaffney, and John Bevilaqua. He also commended the work of Metropolitan Police Department Officers Sherrelle Williams, Derek Starliper, and David Randolph; Sergeants Nicholas Bruel and Wayne Rimel; and MPD Mobile Crime Officers Charles Graham, Richard Griffin, and John Holzwart. He also expressed appreciation for the work of Firearms Examiner Roslyn Brown. Mr. Taylor additionally praised the work of Legal Assistant Kalisha Johnson-Clark, Paralegal Supervisor Wanda Trice, and Robin Brown of Litigation Services. Mr. Taylor also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tejpal S. Chawla, Edward O’Connell, Eric Gallun and Lionel Andre who handled this case.