Aaron Brown, a 29-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for assault with intent to kill while armed. This conviction is related to the killing of Malachi Lukes, a 13-year-old boy, in March 2020. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro along with FBI Assistant Director Steven J. Jensen, ATF Special Agent Anthony Spotswood, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Brown pleaded guilty to the charge on December 20, 2024, before Judge Rainey Brandt. His involvement was part of a shooting incident following Lukes's homicide. Prior convictions in this case included Stephon Nelson, Tyiion Freeman, and Koran Jackson who were found guilty of first-degree murder while armed among other charges. Freeman received a sentence of 108 years; Jackson was sentenced to 164 years; and Nelson received a sentence of 108½ years.
Between February and May 2020, Brown and his co-defendants participated in illegal activities involving firearms aimed at committing violent crimes. These defendants were associated with neighborhood crews engaged in ongoing feuds that intensified after the death of Tahlil Byrd in September 2019.
On March 1, 2020, Brown and his co-defendants conducted two shootings within ten minutes across different neighborhoods using a stolen Kia Soul. In one incident at Ninth Street area on S Street N.W., Malachi Lukes was shot fatally as he fled from gunfire initiated by two defendants who exited the vehicle while Brown remained inside it.
In announcing the sentence against Brown, authorities including U.S. Attorney Pirro praised the investigative efforts by various law enforcement agencies such as MPD and ATF alongside others like Arlington County Police Department.
Acknowledgments were extended towards individuals who assisted with the case including Lead Paralegal Sharon Newman and Supervisory Paralegal Tasha Harris among others involved from prosecution teams led by Assistant U.S Attorneys Michelle Jackson Tamara Rubb Nebiyu Feleke
