WASHINGTON — A 19-year-old Washington man who shot a boy playing basketball at a Northwest recreation center was sentenced to probation on Nov. 13, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Darius Drew, 19, had pleaded guilty on Aug. 10 to aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license in D.C. Superior Court, the office said.
Prosecutors asked for five years in prison, the top of Drew’s sentencing guidelines. They pointed to what they called indiscriminate conduct, including firing more than 20 rounds into the community from two locations.
Superior Court Judge Jennifer Di Toro instead imposed 24 months in prison, suspended execution of the sentence, and placed Drew on 18 months of supervised probation. She sentenced him under the Youth Rehabilitation Act, over the government’s objection, the office said.
According to the government’s evidence, Drew was seen on May 11 riding a Lime bike into an alley in the 700 block of Taylor Street Northwest. ShotSpotter then alerted to 10 gunshots, and surveillance video captured him firing at a car parked in the alley, the office said.
Seconds later, in the 4100 block of 9th Street Northwest, Drew fired toward a house near the alley and hit the boy, who was playing basketball at a nearby recreation center, according to the office. The boy was injured in the leg.
A search warrant at Drew’s home turned up two firearms, ammunition and large amounts of suspected narcotics and marijuana, the office said.
Drew was arrested on May 22 and stayed in custody until his release on Nov. 13, again over the government’s objection, according to the office. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced the sentence. The Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalie Anderson prosecuted it. The case is 2026 CF3 007856.