FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 7, 2022

Defendant Attempted to Rob Victim, Shot Him in Struggle

            WASHINGTON - Rondez Tibbs, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to an 11-year prison term for fatally shooting a man last year at a convenience store in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

            Tibbs pleaded guilty in June 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second-degree murder while armed. The plea agreement, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon term of 9 ½-to-14 years in prison. The Honorable Maribeth Raffinan accepted the plea and sentenced Tibbs accordingly. Following his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 21, 2021, at approximately 12:15 a.m., Tibbs was in a convenience store in the 2200 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. The victim, Malcolm Johnson, was also in the store. Tibbs approached Mr. Johnson and attempted to rob him. He attempted to take Mr. Johnson’s black cross body bag from him.

            Tibbs held a black handgun with an extended magazine down at his side while Mr. Johnson began reaching for his own gun to defend himself. While Tibbs had Mr. Johnson pinned against the wall, Mr. Johnson grabbed hold of his gun inside the black bag; Tibbs grabbed Mr. Johnson’s hand inside the black bag.  A struggle ensued and both men were shot. Mr. Johnson then stumbled out of the store and entered a parked vehicle. Mr. Johnson, 27, was subsequently found unconscious in the parked vehicle a short time later; he was shot in the stomach.

            Tibbs was hospitalized after the shooting and arrested.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch of the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Lashone Samuels and Victim/Witness Specialist Jennifer Clark.

            Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shehzad Akhtar and Peter Roman, who investigated and prosecuted the case.