Damon Sams of the District pled guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge today in connection with the shooting of Ashley McRae, 21. McRae, also from the District, was found in the backseat of a car with a single gunshot wound to her head and died at George Washington University Hospital last September.
Sams, 23, had earlier been indicted by a grand jury on second degree murder charges, to which he pled not guilty.
Sams said he accidentally shot McRae when he was trying to put the safety on a .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol, and the government said in a press release that its evidence indicated Sams did not intend to shoot McRae.
According to the release:
Sams already had fired the pistol that night, shortly before killing McRae, and no reasonable person could have thought it would be safe to touch the trigger with a pistol pointed in the direction of another person. Earlier that night, Sams had fired the pistol into the air out of anger at an incident at a club in Maryland, involving unrelated individuals.
Sams also pled guilty to charges of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces up to 45 years in prison, and at least five under mandatory-minimum laws.
The full release from the United States Attorney’s Office is after the jump.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
District Man Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter
In September 2010 Slaying in Southeast Washington
- Evidence Indicates He Did Not Intend to Shoot 21-Year-Old Victim -
WASHINGTON - Damon Sams, 23, pled guilty today to charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence in a slaying that took place in September 2010 in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Sams, also known as “Milli” and “9-Milli,” entered his guilty plea before the Honorable Gerald I. Fisher in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Sams, of Washington, D.C., is to be sentenced on July 8, 2011. He faces up to 45 years of imprisonment, including a mandatory-minimum sentence of five years. Under the court’s voluntary sentencing guidelines, the likely sentencing range is between five and 14 years in prison.
The government’s evidence indicated that Sams did not intend to shoot the victim or discharge the firearm. According to the government’s evidence, on September 18, 2010, at 3:30 a.m., Sams shot the victim, Ashley McRae, 21, once in the forehead while she was seated in the back seat on the driver’s side of a car parked behind a building in the 2700 block of Bruce Place SE.
At the time of the shooting, Sams was standing in the space created by the open rear passenger door of the car, with a pistol in his hand. By his account, he was attempting to engage the safety on the pistol before getting into the car. He touched the trigger to see if the safety was on – while holding the pistol pointed into the car. A round discharged, killing the victim.
Sams already had fired the pistol that night, shortly before killing McRae, and no reasonable person could have thought it would be safe to touch the trigger with a pistol pointed in the direction of another person. Earlier that night, Sams had fired the pistol into the air out of anger at an incident at a club in Maryland, involving unrelated individuals.
In announcing today’s guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of Metropolitan Police Department Homicide lead detective Jeffrey Clay and partner Earl Delauder, Mobile Crime lead technician Ridley Durham, and 7th District detective Cornell Johnson, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas (Pat) Martin, who investigated and obtained an indictment in the case, and Daniel Friedman, who obtained the guilty plea.
Plea documents have been added to this post.
