DC Superior Court Judge Judith Pipe sentenced a shooting defendant on June 12 to unsupervised probation, allowing him to return to a farm in Virginia.
Jory Sydnor, 26, pleaded guilty on April 8 to carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business. The charge stemmed from his involvement in a shooting on the 1400 block of Trinidad Avenue, NE on April 10, 2025. Sydnor’s ex-step-father sustained a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Judge Pipe cited the mitigating factors in the case including that the shooting occurred after Sydnor learned that his ex-step-father was allegedly harming his mother and juvenile sister.
The prosecution also acknowledged that Sydnor was “struggling with mental health and substance abuse” at the time of the offense.
The prosecution requested Sydnor receive inpatient psychological support and three years of supervised probation.
Judge Pipe was concerned that supervised probation would require Sydnor to stay in DC, which Andrew Ain, Sydnor’s attorney, emphasized that was against Sydnor’s wishes. Ain explained that Sydnor simply “wants to go back to the farm” where he previously lived in Virginia.
Ain outlined a flow chart of the criminal justice system and argued, in his view, that more severe punishment leads to more restrictions and expectations which become more opportunities for defendants to reoffend. “That flow chart is particularly maladaptive for him,” said Ain
“I don’t see him as a danger to the community,” Judge Pipe expressed before handing down her sentencing decision.
Sydnor was given a fully suspended 10 month sentence and one year of unsupervised probation, during which he is not permitted to possess a firearm. Additionally he will need to register as a gun offender in DC for the next two years. If he fails to meet any of these conditions Judge Pipe can require him to serve the 10 month sentence.
No further dates were set.
