David Oday Smith, a 39-year-old resident of the District of Columbia and previously convicted felon, was sentenced on Mar. 18 in U.S. District Court to 24 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Smith pleaded guilty on Nov. 10, 2025, before Judge Randolph D. Moss to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Moss ordered Smith to serve three years of supervised release.
Court documents show that on July 14, 2025, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department Crime Suppression Team saw Smith near a bus stop carrying a bag that appeared heavy. When approached by police, Smith fled and threw the bag over a fence behind a business. A witness saw him toss the bag. Officers recovered it and found inside a Glock 27 .40 caliber pistol loaded with one round in the chamber and fourteen rounds in the magazine. Police later found Smith on the porch of a nearby residence and arrested him.
Smith had previously been convicted in Prince George's County, Maryland, for second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and use of a handgun during a crime of violence. He was sentenced to thirty years in prison in 2009 but served about fifteen years before his release. This prior felony conviction made his possession of the firearm in this case a federal offense.
The case was investigated by the ATF Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Liss as part of the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Initiative. The initiative supports President Trump's Executive Order aimed at reducing gun violence through prioritizing federal firearms violations and seeking tougher penalties.
