Defendant Shot Victim Repeatedly After Confrontation Next to Alley
WASHINGTON - Montez Warren, 36, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to a charge of second-degree murder while armed for killing a man in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.
Warren pled guilty in February 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon prison sentence of 15 to 22 years. The Honorable Milton C. Lee accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Following his prison term, Warren will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, on the evening of Aug. 20, 2016, numerous people attended a cookout and fish fry in the 1200 block of 18th Place NE, including Warren and the victim, Dante Miller. In the early morning hours of Aug. 21, 2016, the party wore down, and an argument erupted between Mr. Miller and a woman who was with Warren. Warren tried to break up the fight, but the confrontation soon resumed. As the fighting continued to escalate, Warren fired several shots at Mr. Miller. He kept firing his weapon even as Mr. Miller tried to run away. Then, as Mr. Miller fell to the ground, Warren stood over top of him and fired several additional shots. He then rode off in a car. Mr. Miller, 24, died at the scene.
An autopsy identified eight gunshot wounds, including one to the chest and one to the abdomen.
An investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) led to Warren’s arrest on Oct. 12, 2016. He has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team, and the U.S. Park Police. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman and Paralegal Specialist Lornce Applewhite. Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Misler and Glenn Kirschner, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
