A father and son planned to attend a WWE wrestling match the night they were repeatedly shot inside their car by a man who federal prosecutors said is now going to prison.
When Jamal Matthews saw the father’s SUV stopped at a curb in northeast Washington, D.C., in December 2018, he believed the vehicle was the same one that shot at him and his cousin, killing his cousin, three days earlier on Christmas Day, according to prosecutors.
Instead, the father and his minor son were inside — waiting for a friend before the WWE event, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in an Aug. 31 news release.
As the pair waited, Matthews made a call and two other men, Darnell Savoy and Stefon Freshley, drove to Matthews’ car and got inside, according to prosecutors.
Matthews, Savoy and Freshley headed to the father’s car, and Matthews unloaded an assault rifle, firing several shots at the vehicle as the group drove by, prosecutors said.
The father was shot in his leg and hand, while his son was shot nine times — in his head, stomach, chest and back, according to prosecutors. Matthews, Savoy and Freshley each pleaded guilty March 29 in the shooting.
Now, a judge has sentenced Matthews, 34, to 26 years in prison; Savoy, 25, to nine years in prison and Freshley, 28, to seven and a half years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. All three men are from Washington, D.C.
Matthews was sentenced to 21 years in prison connected to the shooting and five years in prison connected to trying to obstruct justice in the case, according to prosecutors.
Defense attorneys representing the three men didn’t respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment Sept. 2.
After the shooting, the father and son were taken to a hospital, where the father was admitted in stable condition and his son was admitted in critical condition, an affidavit filed in March 2019 says.
By March 2019, the son had undergone multiple surgeries, was waiting to undergo more surgeries and was in physical therapy, the affidavit says.
The Metropolitan Police Department, FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office investigated the case.
Before Matthews, Savoy and Freshley were sentenced Aug. 30, Savoy was sentenced to five years in prison on drug possession and firearms charges in connection with a separate case involving a stabbing in October 2022, prosecutors said. He will serve his nine-year sentence after the five-year sentence, according to prosecutors.
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