D.C. Man Gets Five Years in Prison for Planned Attack in August 2024

WASHINGTON - Gregory Grooms, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison in D.C. Superior Court for charges related to an assault on a 31-year-old District resident on August 7, 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

"After this defendant and his accomplice spent hours lying in wait for their victim, they ambushed him at gunpoint, repeatedly pistol-whipped him, forced him to strip, and paraded him naked through his apartment building," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "For this calculated and brutal attack, the Government asked for the top of the sentencing guidelines-13 years in prison. The court imposed five. While we respect the court's decision, five years does not reflect the full severity of what this defendant did to his victim."

Grooms was found guilty by a Superior Court jury on March 30, 2026, of one count each of conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a license. Superior Court Judge Deborah Israel ordered Grooms to serve the prison term to be followed by three years of supervised release. The Government recommended a sentence at the top of the sentencing guidelines for a total of 13 years of imprisonment.

According to the government's evidence, on the night of August 6-7, 2024, Grooms and an accomplice drove to the parking lot of the victim's apartment building and waited in Grooms' car for more than three hours. At 1:12 a.m., just minutes after the victim came outside to have drinks with a woman in front of the building, Grooms and his accomplice got out of Grooms' car and walked toward the victim. Grooms and his accomplice pointed handguns at the victim and then repeatedly pistol-whipped the victim in the head and face, leaving the victim injured and bloodied. The assault continued for several minutes as the victim, Grooms, and Grooms' accomplice made their way inside the apartment building lobby and into an elevator. Once in the elevator, Grooms and his accomplice forced the victim to remove his clothes at gunpoint. Grooms and his accomplice then paraded the victim out of the building, naked from the waist down. On August 14, 2024, Grooms was stopped by police while driving his vehicle; during a subsequent search of the vehicle, a handgun was located under the driver's seat.

Grooms was arrested on August 14, 2024, and has been in custody since.

Joining the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Interim Chief Carroll commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant United States Attorney Michael Roberts, who prosecuted the case.

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