WASHINGTON – Brandon Randall, 35, of Annapolis, Maryland, was sentenced on June 2, 2023, to 264 months in prison for shooting a stranger outside a Northwest Washington D.C. night club, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Interim Chief Ashan Benedict, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Randall pleaded guilty on November 22, 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of second-degree murder while armed. The Honorable Milton C. Lee, Jr. accepted the plea and sentenced Randall to 22 years’ of incarceration. Following his prison term, Randall will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on February 24, 2019, at approximately 1:24 a.m., a fight broke out during a music event at the Safari DC Restaurant and Lounge, located in the 4300 block of Georgia Avenue Northwest. The patrons, including the victim, David Brandon, and Randall, were forced outside. Surveillance video shows that Randall and his associates were amidst a group of people who were walking away from the night club. As they were walking, Randall removed a firearm from his waistband, and one of his associates punched another individual. Randall then fired his gun towards the group of people and ran away with his associates. Randall continued to fire more rounds as he ran towards an SUV and ultimately fled the scene.
The victim, David Brandon, sustained five gunshot wounds and died a short time later. Randall was arrested on July 17, 2019. He has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Interim Chief Benedict commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Annapolis Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark and Lead Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman.
Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gauri Gopal and Colleen Kukowski, who investigated and prosecuted the case.