Defendant Sentenced to 12 Years for Fatal Shooting and Prison Stabbing

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DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein sentenced a defendant to 12 years in prison for committing two acts of violence: a shooting that claimed one life, and a stabbing in the DC Jail.

Karlos Kinney, 24, pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal on April 2 to voluntary manslaughter while armed for shooting 25-year-old Resha Blount on April 30, 2020, on the 900 block of New Jersey Avenue, NW. As part of the same plea agreement, Kinney also pleaded guilty to assault with significant bodily injury for stabbing another inmate in the DC Jail on Nov. 23, 2022.

Members of Blount’s family were present in court wearing shirts that displayed pictures of Blount’s face.

“Why should the defendant make lovable memories with his family when I lost mine?” Blount’s grandmother demanded.

Many of Blount’s family members talked about how Blount’s daughter has to grow up without a mother due to the incident.

“Karlos Kinney took the best part of me,” Blount’s mother continued.

Kinney read a letter out in court, apologizing to Blount’s family and stating, “I never intended to hurt her.”

The prosecutor said Kinney has been in and out of jail since he was a teenager.

Judge Epstein called this “a case where there is a need for punishment.”

Judge Epstein sentenced Kinney to 144 months of incarceration: ten years for his homicide offense and two years for stabbing an inmate. In addition to five years of supervised release, Kinney also has to register as a gun offender.

There are no further dates set for this case.