Judge Sentences Homicide Defendant to Serve More than 8.5 Years

By D.C. Witness Staff - June 14, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Probation | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge sentenced a defendant to serve slightly over eight-and-a-half years for voluntary manslaughter while armed.

Xavier Culbreth was initially charged with first-degree murder while armed for stabbing 40-year-old Jamal Ferrell seven times at the Potomac Avenue Metro station on the 700 block of 14th Street, SE, on April 28, 2019.

Culbreth, 21, pleaded down to voluntary manslaughter while armed in April. 

“I wish it never would have happened,” Culbreth said during the June 14 hearing, “I think about it every day.”

Judge Milton Lee sentenced Culbreth to 10 years in prison. He suspended 16 months of the sentence, leaving him with 104 months to serve.

The prosecution, however, did not want any of the 10 years to be suspended.

“This is a significant sentence for a significant crime,” the prosecutor said.

Culbreth’s prison time will be followed by 40 months of supervised probation. 

Judge Lee sentenced the defendant under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA), which will effectively seal his case after he completes the requirements imposed on him.

Conditions of Culbreth’s probation include participating in an educational program and receiving a mental health screening and anger management counseling, drug testing and treatment and vocational training. He must also complete 100 hours of community service.

In a victim impact statement read by the prosecution, Ferrell’s family stated, “We, the family, miss Jamal so much. Words cannot fill the void that we have.”

Jada Smith, 20, was also charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with Ferrell’s death. However, a judge said that while she was at the scene and allegedly stole the victim’s wallet, she did not have direct involvement with the murder, D.C. Witness previously reported.

She went on to be sentenced to 90 days, all of which were suspended, plus one year of supervised probation under the YRA in April.

Mara Osterburg wrote this article.