WASHINGTON – Anthony Bedney, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for shooting a woman and her five-year-old child after an argument over a scooter he abandoned in a bike lane in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Bedney pleaded guilty in April 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of assault with intent to kill with a dangerous weapon and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison. The Honorable Milton C. Lee, Jr. accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Following his prison term, Bedney will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, the attack took place at about 6:50 p.m. on May 18, 2021. Bedney left a rented scooter in a bike lane on 10th Street NW. A woman who was outside with her family told Bedney that he could not leave his scooter there. The woman then moved the scooter. Bedney then came back and kicked the scooter over. The woman said something to the effect of: “My kids are playing here.” Bedney replied with an expletive. The woman’s husband then approached him as the mother and two young children retreated. He and Bedney engaged in a verbal altercation, and the father threw the scooter back towards him. Bedney moved away and was not hit. The father, meanwhile, moved to be near his family.
As the family was going back inside their residence, Bedney placed a black ski-type mask over his head and face. He then retrieved a firearm from his bag and fired approximately seven shots in the direction of the family. One bullet struck the woman in the chest/neck area, and one struck one of the children, who was five years old, in the back. The mother was hospitalized for six weeks. The bullet still remains lodged in the child’s back. The father and the other child, then two years old, were not hit by the gunfire.
Bedney fled the scene. He was arrested on May 27, 2021, after police linked him to the scooter through the rental company’s records. He has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Allison Daniels and Debra McPherson and Victim/Witness Program Specialist Karina Hernandez. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole G. H. Conte, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.