WASHINGTON — Two D.C. men have been sentenced to several decades in prison for murdering the teenage daughter of a retired police officer in broad daylight back in 2017.
Robert Moses and James Mayfield, both 25, were sentenced to 61 years and 50 years in prison respectively for killing 17-year-old Jamahri Sydnor and wounding three others, in a daytime shooting in Aug. 2017 in Northeast D.C.
U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) say both men also received five years of supervised release.
Government evidence shows Moses and Mayfield were behind a shootout in a busy neighborhood at the intersection of Montana and Saratoga Avenues Northeast. The duo reportedly shot more than 10 rounds indiscriminately when one bullet struck Sydnor in the head. Sydnor, the daughter of retired MPD Homicide Detective and Sgt. Que Wallace, was driving through the intersection with her 12-year-old nephew at the time of the shooting. Glass from the shattered window where the bullet entered the car also injured the nephew. Sydnor crashed her car into another vehicle after being struck.
Authorities say a third victim was shot as he stood on the street corner with friends, and another innocent bystander shattered his leg after throwing himself from his wheelchair while trying to take cover from the gunfire.
Moses and Mayfield were found guilty on Dec. 8, 2022, by a Superior Court jury of one count of conspiracy, one count of first-degree murder while armed (premeditated), two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed (one with aggravating circumstances), one count of aggravated assault while armed (with aggravating circumstances), one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, and four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Moses was also convicted of two counts of obstructing justice and faced extra penalties because he was on pre-trial release at the time of the offenses. Authorities say Mayfield is also charged in a separate multiple-count indictment, including two counts of murder, for a three-day crime spree that occurred between Dec. 24-27, 2017. The trial in that case is scheduled to begin in Jan. 2025.
