‘There’s A Blood Feud That Runs Deep,’ Judge Says in Sentencing Co-Defendants to More Than 100 Years For Shooting Spree

By Laura Berol - September 16, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Juveniles | Non-Fatal Shooting | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt sentenced Tyiion Freeman to 108 years incarceration and Koran Jackson to 164 years on Sept. 13 for their involvement in a 2020 shooting spree that resulted in multiple injuries and one death. 

Freeman, 25, and Jackson, 24, were convicted on July 10 of conspiracy, first-degree premeditated murder while armed, four counts of assault with intent to kill, five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, carrying a pistol without a license, three counts of tampering with physical evidence, and four counts of possession of an unregistered firearm. The charges stemmed from the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes on March 1, 2020, on the 600 block of S Street, NW, that also left another juvenile injured.

Freeman was additionally convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convict, 

Jackson was also convicted of four counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, six counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license. The charges stemmed from a non-fatal shooting on Feb. 22, 2020, on the 700 block of Farragut Street, NW, that injured two individuals, and a shooting on Feb. 24, 2020, at the intersection of 9th Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NW, that injured three individuals.

The sentencing of a third co-defendant, 33-year-old Stephen Nelson, was delayed until Sept. 19 due to undisclosed circumstances.

Reginald Steele, 25, and Aaron Brown, 28, are currently facing charges based on their alleged involvement in the incidents.

“He was smart, bold, and filled with compassion,” Lukes’ mother told the court about her son during a victim impact statement.

“What legacy of yourself would you like to leave behind?” she remembered asking him mere days before he was killed.

“I’ve done good work, Mommy, but I want to make a difference,” Lukes said.

Lukes’ mother attested that he had already made a difference by age 13.

“I’ve seen tears form in congregants’ eyes as he blessed them with his sweet singing,” she said.

According to Lukes’ mother, 125 friends and family members attended a candlelight vigil after Lukes’ death to memorialize his life and protest gun violence.

“We can no longer walk the street with the confidence that we will not become the victims of gun violence,” the prosecutor read from a victim impact statement by a neighborhood association. “Some families have moved from the neighborhood for fear of being outside their homes at the wrong moment.”

“It was a mass shooting, literally waiting until the kids were corralled in a parking lot and then shooting them as they ran away,” the prosecutor said regarding the assault on Lukes and his friends. “There could have been four more bodies.”

“This was a Sunday afternoon when people were praying, while this guy was preying on kids,” the prosecutor said in requesting the court to give Freeman a 110-year sentence.

“The devastation that Mr. Jackson has brought on his victims and the community cannot be overstated and deserves a lengthy sentence,” the prosecutor said while asking Judge Brandt to sentence Jackson to 163 years.

Andrew Ain, Freeman’s defense attorney, and Brian McDaniel, Jackson’s defense attorney, requested 30-year sentences for their clients, the mandatory minimum for first-degree murder.

“This is significantly below the guidelines, but I don’t believe the guidelines were created for cases at the extreme end, and this case is at the extreme end because of how the charges stack up,” Ain said.

“I would note that our sentencing guidelines are not mandatory but discretionary,” said McDaniel. “I believe Mr. Jackson is an individual who is capable of rehabilitation.”

The prosecutor argued there were no mitigating factors to justify short sentences, while there were two aggravating factors to justify long sentences – the murder was premeditated, and the victim was a child.

“This court as a whole has a 98 percent compliance rate with the sentencing guidelines,” said Judge Brandt. 

She said it was especially important to apply the guidelines faithfully in this case because the prosecution’s evidence had shown the conflicts motivating the shootings were still ongoing.

“That’s a blood feud that runs deep, and it’s not over,” Judge Brandt said about the issues between the neighborhoods. “The length of the sentence sends a message to the community that this kind of violence can’t be tolerated.”

“I’ve tried to temper mercy into this sentence because, if I didn’t, the numbers…” said Judge Brandt, her voice trailing off. “It’s with a heavy heart that I sentence you.”

Judge Brandt gave Freeman and Jackson each 45 years for the charge of first-degree murder. They received 14 years for each count of assault with intent to kill against a child. 

Jackson received 12 years for each count of assault with intent to kill while armed against an adult and five years for each count of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Since these charges are all crimes of violence, the DC sentencing guidelines state that the sentences should run consecutively.

Freeman received an additional two years for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convict.

Each charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a sentence of five years, but the guidelines allow them to merge, adding a total of five years to each defendant’s sentence.

The sentences for carrying a pistol without a license, tampering with physical evidence and possession of an unregistered firearm didn’t extend Freeman’s and Jackson’s prison time because the guidelines allow them to run concurrently with the sentences for other charges.

Judge Brandt required Freeman to pay $1800 and Jackson to pay $3264 to the Victims of Violent Crime Fund by Dec. 31, 2075.

“You don’t usually hear someone say they look forward to being transferred to the [Federal] Bureau of Prisons [BOP] as a fresh start, but Mr. Freeman does,” Ain said.

At Ain’s request, Judge Brandt recommended Freeman for the Bureau Rehabilitation and Values Enhancement (BRAVE) program. 

“Program content focuses on developing interpersonal skills, behaving prosocially in a prison environment, challenging antisocial attitudes and criminality, developing problem solving skills, and planning for release,” according to BOP documents.

Judge Brandt told Freeman and Jackson that they have 30 days to file appeals.

No further hearings are scheduled in these cases.