DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park sentenced a shooting defendant to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release on July 12.
Andre Harvey, 29, was originally charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his involvement in a shooting on the 2700 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE, on Dec. 2, 2022. An individual sustained injuries during the incident and later died due to unrelated causes.
On April 1, Harvey accepted an offer to plead guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon in exchange for the prosecution’s not seeking an indictment.
The parties also agreed the prosecution would not seek a sentence longer than 42 months.
At the hearing, the prosecutor requested Harvey serve a fully executed 42 months to satisfy the safety of the community and provide “appropriate” accountability based partly on previous assault convictions.
In turn, Harvey’s attorney Gail Engmann requested that Harvey be sentenced to 24 months on the basis of past life trauma as a mitigating factor; but Judge Park said that was too low given Harvey could have de-escalated the altercation.
Judge Park described it as an “egregious” shooting with the evidence showing Harvey enticed the victim to come back.
On release, Harvey will be required to register as a gun offender.
