WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the man who attacked a Minnesota congresswoman in her D.C. apartment building earlier this year to more than two years in prison.
Kendrid Hamlin, 27, was arrested in February after he assaulted Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) in the elevator of her building near H Street in Northeast. According to police, Hamlin was displaying erratic behavior at the time and began doing push-ups in the elevator before punching Craig in the chin and grabbing her neck.
Craig was able to escape by throwing her coffee at him. Her staff released a statement saying she’d suffered bruising from the assault.
Hamlin was eventually identified as the assault and charged with attacking Craig, as well as two officers during his arrest – one of whom he bit. Hamlin pleaded guilty to all counts against him in June.
Prosecutors sought 39 months in prison, citing in part his previous history of assaulting officers during arrest. Hamlin was represented by assistant federal public defenders Kathryn D’Adamo Guevara and Eugene Ohm, who sought a roughly time-served sentence of a year and a day. In court Thursday, Guevara highlighted the difficult circumstances Hamlin has faced, including homelessness, drug addiction and schizophrenia.
“He has struggled a tremendous amount with that illness,” Guevara said. “All he wants to do in this world is to find a way to live without experiencing that deep suffering.”
Guevara and Ohm sought placement for Hamlin in an in-patient substance abuse treatment facility – which Chief Judge James Boasberg did eventually agree to as part of his sentence – saying if he were to be placed in a high-security facility under Bureau of Prisons care he might not be eligible for the programs that would benefit him even with a sentence of the length the Justice Department was seeking. Guevara said Hamlin, who has been stabbed, hit by a car and struck by a Metro train in the past, required specialized treatment.
“This case really highlights the limitations of the criminal justice system,” Guevara said.
Hamlin’s parents spoke briefly during the hearing. His mother, Harriet Hawkins, apologized to Craig and asked Boasberg to give her son the help he needed.
“Mental health is serious,” Hawkins said. “Mental health attached to substance abuse is deadly.”
Guevara read a prepared statement written by Hamlin in which he apologized as well to Craig and the officers. He spoke briefly during the hearing, but was at times inaudible to members of the public gallery.
Boasberg, a nominee of former President George W. Bush who took over as chief judge earlier this year, said Hamlin’s sentencing presented a difficult case. He said the trauma of his life had been “compounded by very serious and frequently unaddressed mental health issues.” But, he said, he was concerned that the assault on Craig was not an isolated incident.
“What’s really difficult here, Mr. Hamlin, is this is just the latest in a series of criminal behavior and assaultive behavior,” Boasberg said.
Boasberg ultimately sentenced Hamlin to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years on supervised release. He agreed to recommend Hamlin be placed in a federal medical center where he could hopefully receive substance abuse and mental health treatment. He also agreed to recommend Hamlin be placed in an in-patient substance abuse facility after serving his sentence. Hamlin will be required to pursue substance abuse and mental health treatment as part of his conditions of release.
After court Thursday, Guevara released a statement on behalf of Hamlin about the verdict:
"As Mr. Hamlin stated in court, he is deeply remorseful for the harm he caused Representative Craig and continues to pray for her healing. While we are disappointed in the length of the prison sentence, we are hopeful that he will finally get the mental health treatment he has been seeking and desperately needs upon release. Like Representative Craig, the judge acknowledged the societal failures in helping the mentally ill and homeless. We hope that the nation will work towards a solution for our mentally ill community members and stop the ineffective and deeply harmful practice of incarceration as a substitute. "
Hamlin will receive credit for time served since his arrest earlier this year.