District Man Sentenced to Four-Year Prison Term
For Stabbing Unarmed Man in Neck
- Victim Suffered Life-Threatening Injuries -

     WASHINGTON - Melvin Andrade, 21, of Washington D.C., has been sentenced to four years in prison for stabbing a man in the neck in an attack that took place at a busy intersection in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

     Andrade was convicted in August 2011, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of charges of aggravated assault while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, felony assault, and carrying a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced on February 1, 2012, by the Honorable Michael Ryan. Upon completion of his prison term, Andrade will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, on September 9, 2009, a juvenile tried to grab the victim, then 20, and the victim reported the incident to police. Three days later, at 10:15 p.m., the juvenile, Andrade and two others rode bicycles to the victim and his friend, who were seated on a planter near 14th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW and waiting for another friend to arrive. The juvenile and a second person produced knives and attacked the victim and his friend. The juvenile asked the victim why he called the police on him, and said he would “finish him off.”

     The victim and his friend tried to defend themselves by swinging their belts, and they were soon joined by their friend, who arrived and swung his belt as well. The victim’s belt was taken from him by one of the assailants, leaving him completely defenseless. As the victim ran to try and grab his phone to call the police, someone yelled, “He’s getting away!” Andrade chased the victim, kicked his arm away from his jacket, which contained the phone, and cornered him.

     The juvenile yelled, “Stab him, stab him,” and Andrade stabbed the victim first in the neck, and then in the arm. The knife blade broke off from the handle when the blade struck the victim’s arm. The victim’s friends swung their belts to try and separate Andrade from the victim, who was already stabbed, and Andrade and his associates fled.

     The victim was hospitalized in critical condition after the attack with life-threatening injuries and a punctured lung.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and particularly praised the work of Detectives Emilio Martinez and Elba Longo; Sgt. Juan Aguilar; Officers Eliseo Medina, Richard Parrish, Rafael Sarita, and Crime Scene Search Officer Edward Roach. U.S. Attorney Machen also commended the work of U.S. Attorney’s Office Paralegals Wanda Trice and Tamaya Reid, the Litigation Technology Unit, and Victim Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark. Finally, he commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys April Fearnley, who prosecuted the case at trial, and Nicholas Coleman, who indicted the case.

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