A non-fatal shooting defendant was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm, landing him over 64 months in prison before DC Superior Court Judge Jennifer Di Toro on Sept. 5.
Daniel Griffin, 32, pleaded guilty on March 31 to assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction for his involvement in a non-fatal shooting on the 4300 block of Burroughs Ave, NE on May 27.
According to court documents, Griffin fired approximately 14 shots from a white Honda Accord towards another vehicle.
Following Griffin’s plea, both parties debated sentencing.
Griffin has a prior criminal history score of seven–putting him in the highest of five categories used in sentencing guidelines– and prosecutors noted the seriousness of the current offense. The prosecution requested that Griffin serve a 32 month sentence.
Defense attorney Mark Rollins addressed the fact that Griffin had been before Judge Di Toro for sentencing. Rollins then noted that Griffin had accepted responsibility for his actions, and was complying with the court, with hopes of running his time concurrently.
Di Toro said she was not only concerned with the nature of the events, but also with the expressions Griffin gave of his victim during his pre-sentening report.
“This is a difficult case,” Di Toro said, noting the fact that this will be Griffin’s sixth adult conviction, which occurred while he was already on supervised release for attempted possession with intent to distribute heroin in 2018.
Di Toro sentenced Griffin to 42 months with three years of supervised release for one charge of assault with a dangerous weapon and one charge of unlawful possession of a firearm. The terms are set to run concurrently with credit for time served. Once on supervised release, Griffin must also complete a mental health assessment and comply with any recommended forms of treatment offered.
No further dates were set.
