DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman sentenced a homicide defendant to seven years in prison on May 1.
On Feb. 6, Raymond Mathis, also known as Raymond Jenkins, 39, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed for his involvement in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Matthew Miller on Sept. 5, 2023, on the 200 block of M Street, SW. The incident also injured two additional individuals, but they survived.
Through the deal, parties agreed to a seven year sentence.
De’Andre Sams, 30, and Keshawn Lavender, 24, both previously pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed for their involvement in the incident. Sams was sentenced on Oct. 17, 2025 to 11 years in prison and Lavender was sentenced on Jan. 23 to seven years in prison.
During the hearing, Miller’s mother delivered a victim impact statement, in which she called Mathis a “five percenter muslim, a career criminal, and a junkie,” arguing that Black men that find themselves incarcerated will sometimes try to act like muslims and read the Quran in an attempt to make themselves appear better.
She accused Mathis of having committed another murder in his twenties, though both parties stated this was the first time they’d heard of that and it was not in his criminal history report.
Miller’s mother continued, stating she often hopes and prays that Mathis will die in prison. “If God can’t forgive me [for wishing Mathis death], I’ll see you at the gates of hell.”
The prosecutor urged Judge Edelman to accept the plea deal parties agreed to, stating the evidence in this case was far from overwhelming, and the scene was “very chaotic.”
“The evidence brought the real risk of a complete acquittal,” had the case gone to trial, according to the prosecution.
Carrie Weletz, Mathis’ attorney, also urged Judge Edelman to accept the agreement, stating “this was a big messy case,” that was in regards to a “very large scale” drug operation apartment, that spanned multiple units in the building.
Weletz further argued there is no evidence that Mathis ever zip tied or touched Miller at all. She argued Mathis was seriously injured during the incident, having been shot, and immediately sought medical attention.
Mathis asserted his Fifth Amendment right during the hearing.
Judge Edelman accepted the agreement, and sentenced Mathis to seven years. He cited the serious violent crime, “that involved a large amount of premeditation, use of weapons, and the tragic consequence of Miller’s death.”
He highlighted Mathis’ criminal history, which include multiple drug convictions, weapon offenses, and multiple revocations of release and probation due to re-arrests.
“I don’t know much about Mr. Mathis other than he has these prior convictions and a GED,” Judge Edelman stated.
Mathis is required to serve five years of supervised release, must undergo vocational training, mental health and substance abuse assessments, and register as a gun offender.
No further dates were set.
