Press Release
District Man Sentenced for Stabbing and Beating Girlfriend, Then Trying to Get Her to Drop the Case
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia
WASHINGTON – Preston Fultz, 45, of the District, was sentenced today to thirty (30) months in prison for stabbing and beating his former girlfriend in Northeast Washington, and then trying to get her to drop the case against him, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced today. Fultz was sentenced by the Honorable Todd E. Edelman. Once Fultz is released from prison, he will be on supervised release for three (3) years.
Fultz pleaded guilty in May 2019 to assault with a dangerous weapon – knife, assault with significant bodily injury and felony contempt of court. According to the government’s evidence, on November 5, 2018, during an argument with his then-girlfriend, he stabbed her in the thigh with a pocket knife. Then, on February 28, 2019, he hit her in the face with such force that her eyes swelled shut and she had to be hospitalized overnight at Medstar Washington Hospital Center so that ophthalmologists could try to assess the damage to her eyes. As a result of the beating, the woman had vision problems that lasted for at least several months. After his arrest on March 1, 2019, Fultz wrote a note to a friend, encouraging the friend to try to get another woman to persuade the victim to drop the case against him, even though the Court had previously ordered Fultz to have no contact – directly or indirectly – with the victim while the case was pending. Fultz’s note was found by Marshals when they searched the defendant as he was being transported from the D.C. Jail to the Superior Court.
In announcing the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the Sexual Assault Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department, the staff at Medstar Washington Hospital Center, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Michael Ambrosino, Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation; Paralegal Specialist Brenda C. Williams; Supervisory Victim Witness Service Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; and Victim/ Witness Advocate Meshall Thomas.
Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grace B. Richards and Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case.
Updated July 26, 2019
Topic
Violent Crime
Component