Defendant sentenced to 96 months in prison for shooting teenage friend

By Varshana Ramnarine
– October 7, 2024
Daily Stories | Non-lethal shooting | Shoot |

D.C. Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo sentenced a shooting defendant to 96 months in prison for his role in the shooting of a 16-year-old girl in an Oct. 4 hearing.

On July 19, 27-year-old Deangelo Wooten pleaded guilty to aggravated assault while armed and in possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for the shooting death of his 16-year-old girlfriend on January 20 in the 3400 block of 13th Street, SE had shot. The victim suffered serious injuries.

During the hearing, prosecutors presented graphic images of the victim’s wounds to her forearm and back, documenting her physical injuries following the incident. They requested a prison sentence of 120 months, citing the seriousness of the crime. The close-range shooting took place in a residential area, in broad daylight and with witnesses.

Prosecutors said the victim still hadn’t regained feeling in his arm weeks later.

Wooten’s brother appeared in court and apologized to the victim. He drew the court’s attention to Wooten’s difficult childhood and mental illness and explained that he needed medical help.

Wooten’s defense attorney, Todd Baldwin, requested a reduced prison sentence of 72 months. He argued that Wooten needed rehabilitation and that he had been “stable and calm” since treatment.

Baldwin pointed out that Wooten did not aim at the victim’s face, but rather randomly into the car. He claimed this meant he never intended to kill the victim.

Wooten expressed regret and told the court: “I take full responsibility for everything I did.” He wished he could take it all back and that he needed to get his mental health under control.

Judge Demeo alerted the court that she wanted to formulate a judgment for rehabilitation. While she found Wooten responsible for his actions and long criminal history, she imposed a sentence of 96 months on the aggravated assault with an armed weapon charge and 72 months on the possession charge, which will run concurrently. The victim’s stay-at-home order remains in effect.

No further dates have been set.