Jarrell Harris is now sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment after shooting a man in front of his kids. Harris, 28, from Washington, District of Columbia, attacked a guy named Sedrick Miller, 42, in Northeast Washington, and ended up shooting and killing him in broad daylight. Harris admitted guilt to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of Miller last year on March 4, 2022, at around 8:30 a.m.
Shooting in DC
According to WUSA, in the 2300 block of 18th Street NE, Sedrick Miller was strolling with two little children and an adult when Harris approached Miller and shot him 13 times.
The argument between the two guys went on for some time. Miller dated Harris' sister in the past; thus, the two men know one another through this shared connection.
When Harris shot Miller, he was in the process of carrying his younger child in a car seat while also holding the hand of his older child, who was 5 years old at the time, in another hand.
Harris fired 13 rounds, striking Miller 11 times. All of the shots hit Miller in the face or upper body. Despite their father being shot multiple times in front of them, none of the children had any bodily injuries.
Miller was severely injured by the gunshot wounds and died shortly after being shot. After the shots were fired, Harris ran away from the scene.
Two months later, Harris was taken into custody, despite the fact that he was on probation at the time for three different instances of gun possession.
He was taken to jail after his arrest on May 6, 2022, and he has been there ever since. He was arrested and charged with murder in the first degree while armed.
According to the District of Columbia, Harris chose not to have a preliminary hearing and instead accepted a guilty plea to the charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in September 2022.
The acceptance of the plea, which was dependent on the court's consent, called for a jail sentence ranging from ten and a half to 13 years, which was in accordance with the court's voluntary sentencing guidelines.
Jarrell Harris's Imprisonment
According to The Washington Post, the defense counsel, Prava Palacharla, reportedly requested that the judge impose a maximum sentence of 13 years.
Palacharla said that the CCTV footage showed the suspect standing over the deceased person while continuing to fire many times after the victim had already been shot.
The defense counsel claimed that this was a particularly heinous act to have committed on the morning of a school day and that anything of this nature should not have taken place.
Harris expressed remorse, saying that during the incident, he felt threatened for his life and felt like it was the last option.
He added that he realized today that he should not have made that decision, as he could have taken it in other avenues.
Harris apologized to his family and to the family of the victim, saying he was very sorry for what happened.
In addition to the 13-year sentence, Harris faces the possibility of serving additional time in prison for each of the three prior cases of illicit gun possession for which he was still on probation when the shooting happened.
While Harris was behind bars, Judge Rainey Brandt issued an order requiring him to receive therapy for mental health issues as well as substance misuse.
