District Woman Sentenced To 6 ½ Years In Prison For Shooting At Northwest Washington Restaurant-Defendant Shot Victim Once In The Chest-

     WASHINGTON – Lashawn Carson, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a total of 6 ½ years in prison on charges stemming from a shooting at a Northwest Washington restaurant, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Carson was found guilty by a jury in October 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of aggravated assault while armed and related firearms offenses. She was sentenced by the Honorable Michael Ryan. Upon completion of her prison term, Carson will be placed on three years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, at 5:30 a.m. on March 11, 2012, two groups of friends were eating at the IHOP restaurant in the 3100 block of 14th Street NW. The victim’s group of friends was seated at one table and Carson’s group was at another.

     As the victim was attempting to walk to the cash register to pay his bill, Carson and a male friend inadvertently stood directly in his way. The victim attempted to squeeze by and accidently bumped into Carson. Words were exchanged, and the defendant’s male friend used a homophobic slur. A fight ensued, and an off-duty police detective, who was seated nearby, jumped up to break it up. At that point, according to the government’s evidence, Carson walked over, adjusted her hair, pulled out a firearm and shot the victim once in the chest.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation to those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Supervisory Litigation Technology Specialist Joe Calvarese; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Finkelman and Lauren Dickie, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Cannon, who investigated the case and prosecuted it at trial.