A DC judge released Amonte Moody, an 18-year-old, who was caught on camera firing 26 shots from an AR-15 at a car full of people.
The DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to reports of gunfire a little after 2 a.m. on April 22. The investigation revealed that “the defendant had escalated an argument over clothes into an armed assault.”
Three separate cameras recorded the incident, and law enforcement discovered a disassembled AR-15 in his attic. They charged Moody with two felonies, “assault with a dangerous weapon” and “possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.”
Last week, Judge Llyod Nolan set Moody free on house arrest, even though the judge also repeatedly agreed with prosecutors about the severity of the teen’s alleged crimes.
In a transcript obtained by WUSA9, the judge stated, “The concern I have is that this action could have killed someone.”
A DC judge released Amonte Moody, 18, who was caught on camera firing 26 shots from an AR-15 at a car full of people.
The investigation revealed that "the defendant had escalated an argument over clothes into an armed assault."
The judge said, "The concern I have is that this… pic.twitter.com/bvh1jhiysg
— LetsTalkDefensiveGunUse (@LetsTalkDGU) May 14, 2024
A prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office told the judge, “I think we all know that we’re lucky that this wasn’t a homicide.”
Judge Nolan let Moody go on 24/7 house arrest at his stepdad’s place in Maryland with a GPS ankle monitor. The judge also said Moody had to stay away from the people in the car he was firing at.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has filed an emergency order to reverse the judge’s decision to grant Moody’s pre-trial release. In their motion, they said, “The defendant [Moody] fired 26 rounds, littering the street with shell casings. Anyone who happened to walk into that street at the moment could have been killed as an innocent bystander.”
This once again raises the question: What good are gun laws if a person who blatantly violates them and puts no value on human life is walking the streets?