Bruce R. Hart, a 31-year-old resident of the District of Columbia with a prior felony conviction, has been sentenced to 34 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a loaded pistol and a high-capacity magazine while on supervised release for an earlier robbery conviction. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Hart pleaded guilty on September 26, 2025, before Judge Amy Berman Jackson to charges including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, as well as endangerment with a firearm in a public place. In addition to his prison sentence, Hart will serve three years of supervised release.
Court documents indicate that on October 26, 2024, at approximately 9:45 p.m., Hart was seen with two other men on the 1800 block of Wiltberger Street NW. He fired one round from a handgun into the air, an act captured by surveillance cameras. After the incident, the group fled north on Wiltberger Street.
A police officer later observed Hart about one block away from where the shooting occurred. At around 10:43 p.m., when the officer attempted to stop him, Hart ran through traffic across Florida Avenue but was apprehended after a brief pursuit on Bohrer Street NW. Officers recovered a loaded firearm equipped with a large capacity magazine from his waistband.
Hart's criminal record includes a prior felony robbery conviction in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He was sentenced on November 29, 2023, to ten years imprisonment—with nine years and six months suspended—and three years of supervised probation.
The investigation was conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (Washington Field Division). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Green and Brendan M. Horan prosecuted the case.
"This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington Field Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Green and Brendan M. Horan."
