Virginia Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison For Shooting at Police Officers

            WASHINGTON - Richard Butler, III, 35, formerly of Alexandria, Va., has been sentenced to a 17-year prison term for shooting at two Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers and also firing at the occupant of a parked car that he tried to use as a shield in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.

            Butler pled guilty in July 2016, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to assault of a police officer while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was sentenced on Feb. 17, 2017, by the Honorable Zoe Bush. Following his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at approximately 5:50 p.m., two Metropolitan Police Department officers saw a group of individuals gambling in an alley alongside 625 Mellon Street SE. The officers approached the group because they believed Butler resembled an individual wanted by law enforcement in Prince George’s County, Maryland, on a criminal charge. As the officers got closer to the group, Butler turned away from them and ran. At the time, Butler was wearing a backpack on his chest from which a protruding handgun could be seen. When Butler got to the end of the alley, he turned around, shot at the officers, and fled out of the alley. The officers returned fire and pursued Butler on foot through the surrounding neighborhood. During the foot chase, Butler attempted to use parked cars as shields while he shot at the officers. Inside one of the cars used by Butler was a man seated in the driver’s seat of the parked car. Butler shot directly through the windshield of the car. The man was not injured, but the windshield was damaged.

            Butler was stopped in a nearby alley. He was wearing a long-hair wig and was identified as the individual who shot at the officers and the parked car. Butler was also confirmed as the same individual wanted in Maryland, where his case remains pending. Along Butler’s flight path were two firearms.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jean Sexton and Sarah C. Santiago, who investigated the case and handled the sentencing.