Ryan Parker, 24, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Shooting a Man Over A Cigarette

Friday, February 16, 2024

Defendant Shot at Victim Over a Dozen Times on Public Street in Broad Daylight

            WASHINGTON – Ryan Parker, 24, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced today to 12 years of incarceration for the March 2023 shooting of a man outside of Malcolm’s Liquors on Minnesota Avenue NE, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On August 8, 2023, Parker pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges of aggravated assault while armed and carrying a pistol without a license.  The Honorable Erik Christian sentenced the defendant to 10 years for the aggravated assault charge and two years for the carrying a pistol without a license charge, with those sentences to run consecutively to each other.

            According to the government’s evidence, with which Parker agreed, on March 6, 2023, Parker fired 14 gunshots at the victim, and hit him twice while the two were standing outside of Malcolm’s Liquors on Minnesota Avenue. At the plea hearing, Parker admitted that the underlying argument was over the victim’s refusal to give him a cigarette. As a result of the shooting, the victim sustained injuries to his hand and leg.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department officers who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Latrice Washington-Williams. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Alec Levy, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.