Homicide Defendant Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

By Namita Nair [former] - July 29, 2024
Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

A homicide defendant decided to take a plea deal on July 27. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison after already serving nine years.

George Edwards, 34, was charged with first-degree murder while armed, four counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Reginald Perry on Nov. 7, 2015, on the 1700 block of 8th Street, NW. 

Nearly nine years ago, Edwards initially accepted a deal in which he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed, in exchange for a dismissal of all other charges. At the time Edwards was sentenced to 24 years of incarceration with five years of supervised release.

 In 2016, Edwards motioned to withdraw his guilty plea.  In 2023, the DC Court of Appeals ruled that Edwards had the right to do so.

After spending nearly nine years in prison, the case was scheduled to be retired. However, Edwards decided to accept another plea deal for voluntary manslaughter while armed. The maximum sentence for the charge was 15 years in prison. 

At sentencing, Perry’s mother read her victim impact statement via WebEX to DC Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe. She said Edwards should receive the maximum sentence and Edwards was “flexing hard [when he committed the murder] and now [he was] running scared because [he was] facing extra time.” 

She said Edwads was behaving like “such a punk and a sissy” for not being able to do the time. Perry’s mother told Edwards he was “not all that and a bag of chips, [he was] a menace to society.” 

“Judge, I know it may not be easy for you, but it is to me. So please sentence George Edwards to the maximum time as he gave Reginald the maximum,” Perry’s mother said.

Perry’s wife wrote a letter in which she described the regret she feels for not letting their son attend Perry’s funeral as she didn’t want that to the last memory of his father.

“There’s nothing worse than drowning in tears,” she said. 

The prosecution argued for the maximum sentence, describing Perry as a victim of “an awful, earth shattering crime.” 

The prosecutor said the  gun violence that took Perry’s life is common in the District of Columbia, and the court needed to send a clear message it won’t be tolerated. 

Edwards’ defense attorney, Michael Bruckheim, acknowledged Edwards actions were based “on an obviously misguided belief of protecting his family. But, Edwards “was wrong. And he knows his actions have devastated the Perry family.” 

Bruckheim argued for 12 years since during the past nine years Edwards has had no disciplinary issues with the remaining three years suspended and supervised release. 

Bruckheim emphasized that Edwards used the time he had already spent incarcerated wisely to better himself. 

Bruckheim said Edwards has employment and a home waiting for him once he is released and that he plans to work at a non-profit that works to prevent the same type of violence and mistakes that Edwards made. 

Edwards told Judge O’Keefe that  “as [he] sat down for the past nine years, [he] began to reflect on [him]self.”

“A smart man learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others,” Edwards told Judge O’Keefe, explaining that he wanted to use his own mistakes as a guide for others to learn from. 

Along with his remaining three years, Edwards will also serve five years of supervised release. I “hope that this brings some peace for everybody,” Judge O’Keefe said.