Jury Finds Man Guilty of First-Degree Murder for Killing a 13-Year-Old Young Boy

            WASHINGTON – On November 19, 2025, a Superior Court jury returned guilty verdicts for Reginald Steele, Jr., 26, on charges of  first degree murder while armed, several counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and other firearm related charges stemming from a homicide of a 13-year old young boy, Malachi Lukes, on March 1, 2020, and a separate shooting in the Petworth neighborhood on February 22, 2020, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine F. Pirro.

            Steele, along with four co-defendants—who were tried and convicted separately—is a member and associate of the neighborhood crews 3500, CHV, Rock Creek Church, Really Ready Gang, and 640.  Between 2019-2020, the defendant’s neighborhood was feuding with street crews Ninth Street over who was the “Real NW Goon”—3500/Really Ready Gang member Tahlil Byrd, also known as Slatt Goon, or Ninth Street rapper Tyree Marshall, known as Slime Goon. The feud escalated when Slatt Goon was killed in Ninth Street territory, the 600 block of S Street NW, in September 2019.

            Five months later, on March 1, 2020, on an otherwise calm Sunday afternoon, Reginald Steele and three co-defendants drove to Ninth Street territory and circled the neighborhood looking for friends, members, and associates of Ninth Street.  As they drove throughout the neighborhood in a stolen Kia Soul, they spotted 13-year-old Malachi Lukes who, along with his three teen friends, was walking towards the 600 block of S Street NW to play basketball. The defendants followed the boys, pulling into that 600 block of S Street and stopping by the mouth of an alley where Malachi and his friends had turned.  Then, at approximately 2:08pm, the defendant and one of his confederates exited the stolen Kia Soul and fired 11 gunshots.  Malachi Lukes was shot in the back as he fled. The bullet traveled through his heart and lung causing him to collapse to his death.  Another boy was shot in the leg, and the remaining two escaped the barrage of bullets.  The defendant and his confederates then traveled to another neighborhood where members of Ninth Street were known to gather and at 2:18 p.m., opened fire on individuals in that block. Fortunately, no one was injured in this shooting.

            The government’s case relied on largely circumstantial evidence such as surveillance videos, text messages, GPS data recovered from the stolen Kia Soul and other location and cell cite data. One of the key pieces of evidence the government presented, however, were the shell casings recovered from both March 1 shooting scenes. These casings were subsequently linked to another shooting on February 22, 2020, in the Petworth neighborhood.  On that day, Steele and one of his co-defendants got into a verbal altercation with two individuals who lived in the area.  Steele and his confederate then escalated this mere exchange of words and fired 11 gunshots causing the victims to flee for safety. The firearms evidence recovered from this shooting scene was consistent with the firearms evidence in both March 1, 2020 shooting scenes providing evidence of Steele’s identity and participation in all three shootings.

            Joining the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Lead Paralegal Sharon Newman who was assisted by Supervisory Paralegals Tasha Harris and April Urbanowski. U.S. Attorney Pirro also acknowledged Victim Witness Advocate Jennifer Allen, Supervisory Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington, Robert Cephas, and the entire Victim Witness Assistance Unit; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Leif Hickling, Will Henderson, Charlie Bruce, and the Litigation Technology Unit; Office of E-Litigation Chief Emily Miller; Special Counsel for Discovery Chimnomnso Kalu for legal guidance; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); United States Marshal Service, D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS); U.S. Park Police; Montgomery County Police Department; DC Department of Corrections; and Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle Jackson, Tamara Rubb and Nebiyu Feleke for their critical efforts in prosecuting this case.