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District residents Jamal Matthews, Darnell Savoy, and Stefon Freshley pleaded guilty over the weekend to the Dec. 28, 2018 shooting of two people in the Clay Terrace neighborhood who were innocent bystanders.
According to the government’s evidence, the victims were in their SUV standing along the curb in the 200 block of 54th Street NE, waiting for a friend to arrive so they could leave to attend the wrestling show.
As the victims waited, Matthews saw the SUV and mistook it for the same vehicle that shot at him and his cousin three days earlier. In that instance, Matthews emerged from the Christmas Day shooting physically unharmed, but his cousin was killed.
Prosecutors say that after spotting their SUV, Matthews made a call to another person who advised Freshley of the circumstances.
Moments after speaking with that individual, Freshley and Savoy, who were a few blocks away, got into the latter's Nissan Altima and drove towards Matthews.
Savoy was driving and Freshley was in the front passenger seat when they picked up Matthews at the corner of 54th and Clay Streets NE, where Matthews got into the back seat and the three drove into the 200 block of 54th Street NE, in the area of the SUV.
As they drove towards and past the victims’ vehicle, officials say that Matthews fired approximately 30 shots at the SUV, striking the minor nine times in the head, abdomen, chest, and back. His father was struck in the leg and hand.
The three are scheduled to be sentenced in June.
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