Two Men Each Sentenced to More Than 100 Years in Prison for Killing 13 Year Old Malachi Lukes

Press Release

Defendants Took Part in a Nine-Day Shooting Spree in Several Northwest DC Neighborhoods in 2020

WASHINGTON - Tyiion Freeman, 25, and Koran Jackson, 24, both of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to 108 years and 164 years, respectively, for a nine-day shooting spree that culminated in the March 1, 2020, murder of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes.

The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Divisions, ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge James VanVliet of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

A Superior Court jury on July 10, 2024, found Freeman, Jackson, and a third conspirator, Stephon Nelson, guilty of first-degree murder while armed, several counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, conspiracy to commit various firearms offenses and other firearms-related charges. Nelson, who supplied the illegal firearms, is scheduled for sentencing on September 19, 2024.

According to the government's evidence, between February 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020, Freeman and Jackson, along with two other defendants who are awaiting trial, participated in a firearms conspiracy.

Using the firearms from that conspiracy, the defendants engaged in four separate shooting sprees that resulted in the murder of Malachi Lukes and assaults on 10 other victims. Three of shootings stemmed from a longstanding rivalries among various District of Columbia neighborhoods.

According to the evidence, on March 1, 2020, Jackson, Freeman, and two co-conspirators traveled to the Shaw neighborhood in a stolen vehicle. Malachi and his three teenage friends were walking to a basketball court. The defendants followed the teens and pulled alongside them. Two defendants exited the stolen vehicle and opened fire on the boys, killing Malachi Lukes and grazing another. Immediately thereafter, the defendants drove 10 minutes to another neighborhood where they opened fire on another victim.

In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the MPD and ATF along with the Arlington County Police Department. They also thanked the Arlington County Sheriff Department; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Capitol Police; D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences; DOJ Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section; Montgomery County Police Department; D.C. Department of Corrections; and the Internal Revenue Service-Atlanta Branch.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Jackson, Tamara Rubb, and Nebiyu Feleke, with assistance from Lead Paralegal Sharon Newman, Supervisory Paralegal Tasha Harris, Paralegals April Urbanowski and Alyssa Schroeder, Superior Court Operations Manager Linda McDonald, and Victim Witness Advocate Jennifer Allen.

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Updated September 13, 2024