WASHINGTON - Joshua Lamar Artis, 29, also known as “K.O" (Knock-Out), of Dale City and Woodbridge, Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison, concurrent to the sentence he is currently serving for a gun offense in Prince William County, Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The sentencing followed a guilty plea that Artis entered to second-degree murder on July 24, 2019. The guilty plea was entered pursuant to Rule 11(c)(1)(C) of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the government and Artis agreed that Artis would serve a sentence of 240 months or 20 years in prison, concurrent to the sentence that he currently is serving in Prince William County, Virginia.
Artis’s guilty plea stemmed from the shooting death of Ryan Addison in the area of Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue and Elmira Street, S.W., at about 12:22 a.m., on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015. The sentence imposed by Judge Ronna Lee Beck, means that Artis, who concludes his sentence in Prince William County, Virginia, on or about Dec. 15, 2021, will have to serve another 232 months, or seventeen (17) years and eight (8) months in prison, followed by five (5) years of supervised release, after he completes the sentence he is currently serving.
The government’s evidence showed that in the summer of 2015, Artis and others were members of the United Blood Nation (U.B.N. commonly referred to as the “Bloods") criminal street gang. U.B.N. was established in 1993 and is one of the largest criminal street gangs operating in the United States. Among the several factions, or “hoods" or “sets," that comprise the U.B.N. are the Imperial Gangster Bloods (I.G.B.). There are specific rules and protocols which govern how U.B.N. gang members are to conduct themselves. The failure to abide by those rules and protocols can result in the imposition of sanctions including loss of rank, excommunication from the gang, and even death. Committing an act of violence, such as murder, on behalf of the U.B.N. or a U.B.N. leader is one way for a gang member to promote, further, or assist in gaining rank within the gang. The leader of the Northern Virginia I.G.B., based in Woodbridge, Virginia, and two other highly ranked IGB members, cooperated in the investigation. Artis, who was recruited into the Northern Virginia I.G.B. hood by the IGB leader, held the lowest rank of “Foot Soldier."
On June 28, 2015, Rodney Delonte Davis, a.k.a. “Lo," who was a friend and associate of both the leader of IGB and Artis, was shot and killed in the area of Galveston Place, S.W. The leader of IGB considered “Lo" a close friend whom he had known for several years. Artis had known and associated with “Lo," but was not as close to him as the IGB leader. The IGB leader and Artis had information that the person responsible for killing “Lo" lived in the area where “Lo" was killed on Galveston Place, S.W. In the weeks following “Lo’s" murder, the IGB leader discussed with subordinate gang members, to include Arits and others, the possibility of retaliating against “Lo’s" killer.
On the night of Aug. 10, 2015, Artis told the IGB leader that he planned to retaliate against “Lo’s" killer. The IGB leader, who had the power to sanction or prevent a subordinate gang member from committing an act of violence, authorized Artis to commit the retaliation murder. That same night, Artis, and two others, to include an IGB member, drove a rental car to N.W., Washington, D.C., and met with another IGB member at a BP gas station. There, Artis discussed with two other IGB members his desire to commit the retaliation murder. Artis was armed at the time with a 9mm High Point semi-automatic handgun that belonged to another IGB member. Artis and two others, including one IGB member, then drove in a rental car to the area of Galveston Place, S.W. Minutes after arriving, at around 12:20 a.m., on Aug. 11, 2015, Artis slowly drove up next to Ryan Addison, who was walking in the area of Elmira Street and Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue, S.W., just blocks away from Galveston Place, S.W. Artis opened fire at Addison, who then briefly ran down the 200 block of Elmira Street, S.W. before collapsing. Addison sustained four gunshot wounds to the back and was pronounced dead hours later. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
After committing the murder, Artis went with another person to the IGB leader’s home in Virginia where he told the IGB leader that he had shot someone in the area where “Lo’s" killer was believed to reside. Artis subsequently requested and attained a promotion in rank within the gang for committing the murder.
After his arrest in 2016, Artis stated on a recorded jail call that “I put a lot of shit on the line for [the leader of the IGB] that I shouldn’t have. I did it out of loyalty." In another jail call recorded in 2016, the defendant referenced “Lo," and how, “I did a little somethin’ somethin’, out the city, you know, on that behalf," and that “[two witnesses were] with me.... They ain’t do nothing though. They was just out there."
At the sentencing hearing, the Court heard statements from Karen Herbert, Ryan Addison’s mother, Christopher Herbert, Ryan’s older brother, Cortez Addison, Ryan’s younger brother and Caesar Bowman, a close friend of Ryan.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch, the Seventh Police Districts of the Metropolitan Police Department, and Evidence Technicians. She also commended the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Prince William County, Virginia, Police Department, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg, North Carolina, Police Department. As well, U.S. Attorney Liu expressed appreciation of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigators Durand Odom and Mark Crawford, Paralegal Specialist Debra Joyner, Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Litigation Technology Chief Leif Hickling, Victim Witness Supervisor Katina Adams-Washington, Victim Witness Advocate Jennifer Allen, and the summer interns and law clerks of the Homicide Section.
Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Barker, Ahmed M. Baset, and Michael D. Brittin for investigating and prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
