DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun sentenced a homicide defendant to 35 years in prison on July 25.
Dennis Chase, 33, was found guilty of first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction on Oct. 10, 2024. The charges stemmed from his involvement in the fatal shooting of Anthony Orr on the 400 block of Xenia St, SE, on Dec. 7, 2020.
According to court documents, Chase shot Orr in the head while they were in a car together. Chase then dumped the body and attempted to hide evidence of the crime, including the car and his clothes.
The prosecution said Orr’s mother had appeared in court virtually for fear of retribution, especially after testifying against Chase. Orr’s mother chose not to give a victim impact statement and asked the court not to look differently on the case because of her absence.
The prosecution requested that Chase be sentenced to 45 years for first-degree murder, in light of his extensive criminal history and the fact that he committed the crime while charges were pending against him in another jurisdiction.
Chase’s defense attorney, Shawn Sukumar, argued that the prosecution had not adequately demonstrated that his client deserved an additional 15 years of incarceration above the mandatory minimum sentence for first-degree murder.
Sukumar noted that only Chase and Orr knew what happened leading up to Orr’s death. He stated that Chase’s prior criminal history was not as violent as the prosecution portrayed it to be.
“30 years is already a large portion of a person’s life,” Sukumar said, requesting the minimum sentence for Chase
Chase opted out of making a statement to the court.
“I know that nothing I do here today can completely make up for what you lost and for that, I’m sorry,” Judge Okun told Orr’s family.
Judge Okun acknowledged the prosecution’s representations that Chase had a significant criminal history and the case against him was very serious. He concluded that 30 years was not an adequate sentence, especially since Chase committed the crime with charges pending against him.
Judge Okun also acknowledged that Chase had struggled with drug addiction for years and had a 12-year-old daughter.
For first-degree murder, Chase was sentenced to 35 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
Chase was also sentenced to 60 months for possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and 14 months for unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction, each with an accompanying sentence of 3 years of supervised release.
All charges are to run concurrently, and Chase must register as a gun offender upon release.
No further dates were set.
