DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz imposed a split sentence, balancing jail time with probation, for a stabbing defendant on July 10, based on his traumatic upbringing and lengthy criminal history.
Randy Brown, 34, pleaded guilty on May 1 to aggravated assault knowingly, for his involvement in a stabbing that occurred on the 1100 block of 7th Street, NW, on Aug. 7, 2025. The victim sustained multiple injuries to the neck.
As part of the plea, the prosecutors agreed to limit their sentence request to five years in prison.
“I should’ve did something different. I should’ve just stepped off or walked away, anything,” Brown said at sentencing.
Brown explained that an argument began over a pair of glasses that the victim reportedly stole from him. Brown claimed that the fight escalated because of “threats being thrown around.”
Brown’s attorney, Nicole McClain Walton, asked for 46 months in prison, all suspended but 30 months, followed by a period of mental health and substance abuse counseling.
“If he could, he would go back and change what happened that day,” Walton said.
Walton highlighted that Brown has accepted responsibility for what he did. She also explained that Brown admitted to a pre-sentence report writer that he was on the narcotic pain-killer, Percocet, during the incident.
“We are not talking about a random act of violence,” said Walton.
The defense argued that Brown has been conditioned to react in certain ways because of a traumatic upbringing. According to Walton, Brown experienced mental and physical abuse throughout his adolescence, spending most of childhood in and out of foster care.
The prosecution asked for five years in prison, consistent with the plea agreement, and three years supervised probation.
To support their request, the prosecution played surveillance footage of the confrontation. In the video, the victim and defendant are seen having a verbal argument and then separating. A couple minutes after the separation, Brown charged the victim and stabbed him multiple times.
“He did this while surrounded by pedestrians on a busy street in the middle of DC,” said the prosecution.
The prosecution also expressed concern about the location of the victim’s injury, highlighting the neck as an extremely vulnerable part of the body.
Judge Kravitz sentenced Brown to 60 months in prison, all but 42 months suspended, followed by two years of supervised probation. The judge emphasized the severity of the case but also the importance of treatment for Brown and explained that although there are clear mitigating circumstances present, they do not justify the attack.
Special conditions for Brown’s probation include a mental health evaluation and treatment, substance abuse treatment, and housing assistance. Brown is required to donate $100 to the Victims of Violent Crimes fund.
No further dates were set.
