Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6E

P.O. Box 26182, Ledroit Park Station, Washington, DC 200001

(202) 670-1732 | www.anc6e.org
Alexander M. Padro, Chair (6E01), Rachelle P. Nigro, Vice Chair (6E04),
Marge Maceda, Secretary (6E05), Kevin Chapple, Treasurer (6E02)
Frank Wiggins, Public Safety Committee Chair (6E03), Alvin Judd, (6E06), Alfreda Judd (6E07)

November 6, 2014
The Honorable John Ramsey Johnson
District of Columbia Superior Court
H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse, Chamber 3020
500 Indiana Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Re:

The North Capitol Street Shooting, March 11, 2013

Sentencing Hearings 2:00pm, Friday, November 7, 2014, Courtroom 302
DEFENDANTS:
Andrew Allen, 2013-CF3-8762; Age 20, DOB 2/14/94, shooter, armed with a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol,
Model 92AF, with extended magazine;
Keith Bobb, 2013-CF3-8761; Age 22, DOB 2/13/92, driver;
Arnell Smith, 2014-CF1-3340; Age 21, DOB 11/11/92; driver.

Dear Judge Johnson:

On behalf of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6E (ANC6E), which represents 14,000 residents of the District of
Columbia, I submit this Community Impact Statement (CIS) for the sentencing of Andrew Allen, Keith Bobb, and
Arnell Smith, three of the four individuals involved in the North Capitol Shooting on March 11, 2013, one of the
largest mass shootings in the history of the District of Columbia. This CIS is being submitted to the District of
Columbia Superior Court and to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. ANC6E includes the 1200
block of North Capitol Street, N.W., where the mass shooting occurred.
One of the primary roles of our government is to ensure public safety. Those physically injured victims, some who had
more than one bullet violate their bodies, and those affected psychologically by the fear of menacing gunmen
terrorizing their community, cannot have the experience of March 11, 2013 erased, but we can as a government
ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are held accountable. Further, we must send a crystal clear
message to their criminal associates that harming individuals in our community will not be tolerated. We submit this
statement on behalf of our constituents, none of whom felt comfortable to face their assailants in court at any point
during this process; their logic, fear and disgust are perfectly understandable.
The thirteen innocent victims who were shot on March 11, 2013 should never have had to endure the pain and
suffering they have experienced and may never forget. Our constituents at Tyler House, in ANC6E, and all those who
live along and near the 1200 block of North Capitol Street, just twelve blocks from and within sight of the U.S. Capitol
building, should be able to walk freely outside their front doors at all times without fear of being shot by callous young
men who demonstrate no concern for the value of human life and reckless disregard for peaceful citizens in society.
The indiscriminate use of deadly force could easily have resulted in carnage with an exponential impact on an already
horrific tragedy. Indeed, residents innocently sitting near their windows and others, enjoying the sanctity of their
homes, rather than hearing the dreadful sound of gunfire nearby, could have easily also been injured or killed by the
gunfire on March 11, 2013.
Mr(s) Allen, Bobb, and Smith clearly missed a vital socialization process that would have prevented this type of
obsessive gang land retribution for petty grievances. Their actions, on and after March 11, 2013, can only instigate
continued violence in our community. Regardless of their own upbringing, Mr(s) Allen, Bobb, and Smith had
absolutely no right to harm the promise of others potential or the peace of mind of many individuals and families who
work very hard and pay dearly to reside in our community. The fact that the defendants attempted to cover up their

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Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6E

P.O. Box 26182, Ledroit Park Station, Washington, DC 200001
(202) 670-1732 | www.anc6e.org
Alexander M. Padro, Chair (6E01), Rachelle P. Nigro, Vice Chair (6E04),
Marge Maceda, Secretary (6E05), Kevin Chapple, Treasurer (6E02)
Frank Wiggins, Public Safety Committee Chair (6E03), Alvin Judd, (6E06), Alfreda Judd (6E07)

actions by burning Andrew Allens Mercedes-Benz (registered to his mother), and by trading away their weapons, later
the very same day, clearly demonstrates further sinister intent and desire to get away with their crimes scot free.
The group the defendants are associated with has a history of violence and criminal behavior. Mr. Smith was only
added to the docket in 2014 because he had already been incarcerated, facing criminal charges in Montgomery
County, Maryland, Fairfax County, Virginia, and Howard County, Maryland. None of these individuals was a first time
offender guilty of a singular case of bad judgment.
Since March of 2013, various sectors of our community have also been plagued by even more gun violence. One
shooting, in a park for young toddlers and senior citizens, occurred on a bright sunny afternoon on October 2, 2014;
another took place October 25, 2014, near one of our most popular social venues along the Shaw neighborhoods
heavily trafficked 7th Street commercial corridor; and, yet another large shooting occurred steps outside the doors of
one of our high performing elementary/middle schools on March 7th of this year.
MPD has not apprehended any of the gunmen in these more recent crimes, but the sentencing of Mr. Andrew Allen (a
shooter), and Keith Bobb and Arnell Smith (both drivers) in the North Capitol Shooting should send a clear message
to all those wielding firearms, and to others, about the penalties for terrorizing our community and city with violence.
Your sentence should particularly serve to alert their associates and rival groups that their actions will have serious
consequences, jeopardize their liberty, and affect the trajectory of the rest of their lives.
Before Mr(s) Allen, Bobb, and Smith are released back into society, they should receive intensive psychological
counseling and job preparedness training so they will have some prospect to pursue civilized and legal sources of
income to support their lives. With all the advances in technology and society, the world may well be a radically
different place in 2034 and 2039. The rapidly growing local economy and employment environment will likely not
accommodate those without college degrees much less former violent felons with increasing national and
international competition for regional jobs. The defendants will be ill prepared for that world without receiving a
specialized advanced educational program while they are incarcerated. As a government, we must find a logical way
to close the revolving door for criminals and humanely integrate them back into society if they themselves are
willing to do so.
Although these defendants surely deserve sentences several times longer than those agreed to in negotiations, we
agree with the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and urge you to accept the defendants
acknowledgment of guilt and sentence them as follows:
25 years of incarceration for instigating shooter Andrew Allen; and
20 years each for Keith Bobb and Arnell Smith, who served as drivers in these assaults.
Furthermore, given that their victims will likely never be able to forget this atrocity, and several will live with debilitating
scars for the rest other lives, none of these men should be sentenced under the Youth Rehabilitation Act of 1985,
under which their convictions could be wiped clean from the public record.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Respectfully,

Frank S. Wiggins
Frank S. Wiggins
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, ANC 6E-03
Public Safety Committee Chair
WigginsANC6E@gmail.com * 6E03@anc.dc.gov
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