Reginald Steele, Jr., 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on Mar. 20 to 107 years in prison for the killing of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes and a separate shooting incident in the Petworth neighborhood, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine F. Pirro.
The sentencing follows Steele's conviction on Nov. 19, 2025, for first-degree murder while armed, multiple counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and other firearm-related charges. Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt handed down the sentence.
"Reginald Steele Jr. and his crew hunted down 13-year-old Malachi Lukes, who was walking to a basketball court, shooting him in the back as he ran for his life. Gang violence poses a grave threat to our communities and for these gang members—those days are over," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "Today, justice has caught up with a man who showed complete disregard for human life. Justice has been served, and our city is safer because of it."
According to the announcement, Steele and four co-defendants were members or associates of several neighborhood crews involved in an ongoing feud with street crews from Ninth Street between 2019 and 2020 over territorial disputes involving individuals known as Slatt Goon and Slime Goon. The conflict escalated after Slatt Goon was killed in September 2019.
On March 1, 2020, Steele and three co-defendants drove through Ninth Street territory searching for rivals when they encountered Lukes walking with friends toward a basketball court on S Street NW. The defendants followed them in a stolen vehicle before stopping near an alley where Lukes and his friends had turned; two exited the car and fired eleven shots at the group. Lukes was shot in the back as he fled and died at the scene; another victim was wounded in the leg.
Afterward, Steele and his co-defendants traveled to another area associated with Ninth Street members and opened fire again; no injuries were reported from this second shooting.
Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department joined Pirro in announcing the sentence. Both officials commended investigators from multiple agencies including local police departments, federal law enforcement agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Marshals Service, D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences, U.S. Park Police, Montgomery County Police Department, D.C. Department of Corrections as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle Jackson, Tamara Rubb and Nebiyu Feleke.
