Nyjell Outler

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

The District man who opened fire at a gender reveal party with an AK-style pistol — killing one man and seriously injuring another — will spend decades behind bars after going on the run, authorities announced.

Nyjell Outler, 22, was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for his role in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Demetris Johnson and Daloni Williams in March 2021, according to the US Attorney's office.

Earlier this year, a jury found Outler guilty of voluntary manslaughter while armed for the Madison Street NE shooting. He was also convicted of aggravated assault while armed for shooting Williams.

Prosecutors say that Outler showed up to the party with a Draco pistol tucked in his backpack. 

After hanging out for about 30 minutes, he pulled it out and walked toward a driveway where Johnson, Williams, and another man were standing. 

When Williams stepped toward him, raising his arm like he was trying to calm down the situation, Outler lifted the gun and shot him twice at point-blank range, prosecutors said.

Then, as Johnson and another man tried to run, Outler fired two more shots, hitting Johnson in the back. He died in the backyard of the home hosting the gender reveal party.

Williams spent nine days in the hospital after surgery to save his leg.

At the time of the shooting, Outler was already wearing a GPS ankle monitor from a previous gun charge involving another Draco. That didn’t deter him, and two hours after fleeing the scene, he cut off the device and vanished.

For nearly 11 months, Outler stayed off the radar—until he landed on the US Marshals’ Top 15 Most Wanted List and was apprehended while hiding in Florida in February 2022.

At sentencing, the government requested that the judge sentence Outler to 35 years.

"In support of its request, the government highlighted not only the egregious circumstances of the killing, but also informed Judge Park of multiple armed assaults and a misdemeanor sex offense the defendant is reported to have perpetrated since being brought back to Washington, DC from Florida," officials said.

Instead, the judge sentenced Outler to 24½ years in federal prison.

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