Jermaine Knight, a 36-year-old resident of Washington D.C., has been sentenced to forty-three months in prison for assaulting and strangling another inmate in December 2024. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Knight pleaded guilty on July 17, 2025, to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm (prior conviction) and one count of felony strangulation. Superior Court Judge Andrea Hertzfeld ordered Knight to serve 20 months for the firearm offense and 23 months for felony strangulation, with the sentences to run consecutively. After completing his prison term, Knight will be subject to three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on October 9, 2024, Knight was walking his dog while carrying a ghost gun when he accidentally shot himself in the thigh after his dog lunged at the leash. Initially, Knight told officers that he had been shot by an unidentified assailant. However, after further investigation by law enforcement officers, it was determined that Knight had shot himself.
While awaiting trial for the firearm charge, Knight assaulted another inmate on December 18, 2024, in a D.C. Superior Court holding cell as both awaited their court hearings. During the incident, Knight punched the other inmate approximately fifteen times in the head and face before strangling him for five seconds. He then used sandwich bread to clean up blood from the scene.
Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Marshal Robert A. Dixon joined U.S. Attorney Pirro in announcing the sentence.
“In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro, Chief Smith, and U.S. Marshal Dixon commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kadian D. Carter, who prosecuted the case.”
