WASHINGTON – A 20-year-old D.C. man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison on charges related to the November 2010 shooting of a 17-year-old athlete and honor roll student in the Trinidad neighborhood of the District.
Kwan Kearney was convicted of first-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed and a firearms offense in December.
Kearney shot Joseph Alonzo Sharps, Jr. as Sharps and a friend were walking back home from a gas station to buy cigarettes. Proseuctors said the two had passed by Kearney and two other men on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of Holbrook Street NE at about 8:30 p.m., with Sharps placing one hand in his pocket and using the other to talk on a cellphone.
Kearney bumped Sharps as the groups passed each other, and Kearney told Sharps to “Stop, pump-faking.” After Sharps said he was not “pump-faking,” Kearney asked him, “What you reaching for?” Sharps said he wasn’t reaching for anything, and according to an eyewitness, raised his hands and shrugged. Kearney then shot Sharps in the belly, and the teen also was hit in the leg and shoulder. His friend was struck in the leg.
Sharps — a varsity football and basketball player at Spingarn High School — bled to death on the street.
Kearney was arrested eight days after the shooting and has been in custody ever since. A co-defendant earlier pleaded guilty to charges in the case.
