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Saeve Edward Evans, 37, pleaded guilty in US District Court this week following an incident last August that saw him involved in a potentially deadly standoff with officers.
According to court documents, at around 5:25 a.m. on Aug. 1, 2023, Evans was walking a dog in the 1700 block of Benning Road NE when an unknown person walked in front of the building, prompting Evans to take out a gun and fire it into the sky three times.
The person ran away.
Minutes later, an officer investigating the gunfire - wearing a full police uniform and driving a marked MPD cruiser - spotted Evans outside a three-story apartment building, prosecutors said.
Evans aimed at the officer, fired the gun three times, then moved towards the apartment entrance. Moving up a ramp, Evans pointed his gun at the officer again and fired nine more live rounds.
The officer returned fire before taking cover behind his police cruiser.
Inside the building, Evans climbed the stairs to the third-floor landing and fired two more shots at the officer through large windows.
In total, Evans fired 14 rounds at the officer, who was uninjured, officials said.
Backup responded to the building, and they found Evans on the third-floor landing, where he was arrested and officers recovered his weapon, which was reported stolen out of Texas.
Evans pleaded guilty to assault on a police officer while armed and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term of over one year.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in May, when he will face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison.
"Every day, our officers risk their own well-being to fight crime in our city,” MPD Chief Pamela Smith said. “In firing those 14 rounds, Evans displayed a reprehensible disregard for the safety of both our officer and our community.
"I’m relieved that no one was hurt, and I’m pleased that Evans has taken some accountability for his actions by pleading guilty."
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