Two Men Found Guilty Of First-Degree Murder While Armed And Assault Charges For Shooting At Caribbean FestivalDefendants Fired About A Dozen Shots Into Crowd, Killing Innocent Bystander

     WASHINGTON – Deonte Bryant, 22, and Terrance Bush, 21, both of Washington, D.C., were found guilty by a jury today of first-degree murder while armed and other charges for shooting and killing a man and wounding two other people during a shoot-out at a street festival in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     In addition to the murder charge, the jury found Bryant and Bush guilty of three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, one count of aggravated assault while armed, and related gun charges. The verdicts followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable John Ramsey Johnson scheduled sentencing for March 7, 2014.

     According to the government’s evidence, in the late afternoon of June 25, 2011, Bryant and Bush provoked and then participated in a shootout with a member of a rival neighborhood group, striking and injuring the rival, as well as three innocent bystanders who were hit by gunfire as they tried to run away. The shooting took place in broad daylight, during the Caribbean Festival, in the area of the 700 block of Gresham Place NW.

     In total, Bryant and Bush fired about a dozen shots into the crowd. One of the innocent bystanders, Robert Foster, Jr., 43, was killed.  Another innocent bystander was gravely wounded but survived.  The third innocent bystander was shot in the leg and the side but also survived.

     The rival, Terry Jimenez, 22, earlier pled guilty to charges in the case.

     In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  U.S. Attorney Machen also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Mia Beamon; Victim/Witness Advocate Meshall Thomas, and Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling and Anisha Bhatia.

     Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Kerkhoff and Kate Rakoczy, who tried the case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Snyder and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Hegyi, who indicted the case.