WASHINGTON — A Fort Washington man was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a 2020 shooting in Southeast Washington that left a woman seriously injured.
Daniel Cary, 31, was sentenced Feb. 13, 2026, in D.C. Superior Court after previously pleading guilty to aggravated assault while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Judge Rainey Brandt also ordered Cary to serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration.
According to prosecutors, the shooting occurred on July 22, 2020, near 108 Atlantic Street SE. Court documents state that Cary was riding in a vehicle driven by his then-girlfriend, Chantel Stewart, 34, when they encountered the victim, who had previously been a friend of Stewart.
As the victim drove in the area, Stewart allegedly pulled her car alongside the victim’s vehicle and warned her, “he’s about to shoot you.” Cary then pulled a mask over his face, exited the passenger side of Stewart’s vehicle, and fired five rounds from a semi-automatic handgun into the victim’s car, prosecutors said.
One bullet pierced the driver’s side door and struck the victim in the back. Despite her injuries, the victim managed to drive herself to a hospital, where she underwent multiple surgeries and survived.
Prosecutors said Stewart drove Cary away from the scene following the shooting. Stewart later pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and received a one-year suspended sentence.
The case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll commended the officers and prosecutors involved in the case, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Miles Janssen, former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel Brower and Ella Gladman, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Claire Hoover.
Cary has remained in custody pending sentencing.
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