Cornellius Ruffin, 41, Guilty of Shooting Man in Broad Daylight in Northwest

Friday, October 25, 2024

WASHINGTON – Cornellius Ruffin, 41, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of assault with significant bodily injury while armed and other charges in a mid-day shooting that took place in Northwest in April of 2021, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Ruffin also was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, possession of unregistered firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. The verdict was returned on October 24, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Judith Pipe scheduled sentencing for January 10, 2025. Ruffin faces a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence on the charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

            According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 12:30 p.m., on April 12, 2021, Ruffin was standing near the intersection of Q Street, NW, and Florida Avenue, NW, when he fired a handgun four times at the victim. One of the bullets fired by Ruffin struck the victim in the left leg. After the shooting, Ruffin handed the firearm to a nearby woman and then fled the area on a red Capital Bikeshare bicycle.

            Eyewitnesses to the shooting provided police with descriptions and photographs of the shooter and the woman he handed the gun to after the shooting. Minutes after the shooting, police located and stopped the woman and recovered a firearm from one of her bags. Ruffin was located and arrested by police the following day, on April 13, 2021.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin Helfand and Valerie Tsesarenko of the Major Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.