Judge Sentences 20 Year Old Man to Nine Year Prison Term For Shooting Two Minor Victims in Northwest D.C.

WASHINGTON - Eric Lemus, 20, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today by the Honorable Maribeth Raffinan for shooting two minor victims on March 22, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Lemus pleaded guilty on February 9, 2024, to one count of assault with intent to kill while armed and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

The U.S. Attorney's Office requested a sentence of 219 months (18.25 years) of incarceration. The Court sentenced the defendant to 108 months (nine years) incarceration, with an additional 39 months suspended and two years of supervised probation. The Court sentenced Lemus under the Youth Rehabilitation act, over the government's objection.

According to the government's evidence, on March 22, 2023, Lemus encountered the two minor victims, ages 15 and 17, at Park Road Park in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Northwest D.C. Lemus produced a handgun and opened fire on the two victims, who were both struck and later treated for gunshot wounds. After firing multiple rounds at the two victims until the magazine was empty, Lemus attempted to flee the scene. The defendant was immediately apprehended by officers with the Metropolitan Police Department, who discovered the handgun that Lemus used to commit the shooting, located inside of his sweatshirt pocket. The crime was captured on video by a bystander who had witnessed the incident.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caroline Coates Huether and Carlos A. Valdivia, who prosecuted the case.

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