Jury Finds District Man Guilty of Aggravated Assault while Armed in Gresham Place Shooting

WASHINGTON - Adrian Lee, 49, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of aggravated assault while armed and other related charges for a late-afternoon shooting and assault against two victims that took place on April 18, 2023, on Gresham Place, NW, in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves.

The verdict was returned on September 24, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Judge Rainey Brandt scheduled sentencing for December 13, 2024. Lee faces a maximum sentence of 38 years in prison.

According to the government's evidence, at approximately 3:15 p.m. on April 18, 2023, the victims were driving home after celebrating their anniversary at a DC restaurant when the defendant's wife sideswiped their car. Lee came down to the accident scene and provided an expired insurance card. While the victim was on the phone with the insurance company, the defendant became aggravated that the process was taking too long. He directed his wife to drive away, and he ran off on foot. The victims followed behind in their car, in an attempt to get insurance or vehicle information from the defendant. The victims were driving a Tesla that day, which was equipped with exterior video cameras. Tesla cameras captured footage of the defendant running from the victims' car. After Lee ran, the victims flagged down a police officer, and were instructed to return to the site of the accident to make a police report. In an attempt to get back to the scene of the accident, the victims turned down Gresham Place, NW - the street where the defendant lived.

Upon seeing the victims, Lee retrieved a gun from his house and ran towards them. The defendant first pointed the gun at the female victim, and then turned and shot the male victim one time in the torso.

Lee and his wife then fled to Florida. The defendant was apprehended back in DC in March of 2024 by United States Marshals.

This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rashmika Nedungadi and Sara Matar of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

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