Father and 21-Month Old Son Were Struck by Gunfire
WASHINGTON - Terrance Atchison, 22, and Barry Bloomfield, 29, both of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to prison terms for a shooting at a barber shop in which a father and his 21-month-old child were injured. Atchison was sentenced to a 16 ½-year prison term, and Bloomfield was sentenced to an 18 ½-year term for their respective roles in the crime.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Atchison and Bloomfield were found guilty by a jury in March 2018, of charges of aggravated assault while armed, assault with significant bodily injury while armed (of a minor), assault with a dangerous weapon, and related offenses. The verdicts followed a multi-week trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. They were sentenced by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson. Following their prison terms, they will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, at approximately 1:40 p.m., three masked gunmen opened the doors of Wrenn’s Barber Shop, in the 1000 block of Eighth Street SE, and began firing a total of eight rounds. At the time of the shooting, the shop was bustling with customers, and the toddler and his father were waiting for a haircut. The father, who was holding his son, was shot three times, and one wound shattered his ankle. A bullet grazed the child’s leg. Witnesses observed the gunmen run to a waiting white sport utility vehicle just around the corner and flee.
Video surveillance showed the defendants getting into a white Toyota RAV 4 about 20 minutes before the shooting and travelling to the barber shop. The defendants were on GPS monitoring because they were on post-conviction supervision, and their tracks placed them directly in front of the barber shop at the time of the shooting, as well as mirrored the RAV 4’s travel to and flight from the barber shop.
Atchison was arrested on Feb. 17, 2016, and Bloomfield was arrested on Feb. 18, 2016. They have been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa N. Walters and Thomas Saunders, who investigated the case, Paralegal Specialist Antoinette Sakamsa, Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Criminal Investigators Nelson Rhone and Melissa Matthews. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany Keil and Melissa Jackson, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
