Jajuan Gripper, a 22-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., was convicted on all charges related to the December 2022 killing of Rynell Bradford in Northeast D.C. The verdict was delivered by a jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia after one day of deliberation. Gripper was found guilty of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence and first-degree premeditated murder while armed. Sentencing is set for October 17, 2025, with Judge Michael Ryan presiding.
According to evidence presented by the government, Gripper and two accomplices followed Bradford out of his apartment building in the Kenilworth neighborhood on December 20, 2022. Each was armed with a handgun. After exchanging words with Bradford, they opened fire as he attempted to flee down a public street. Investigators determined that at least 19 shots were fired, one striking Bradford in the back of the head and resulting in his death.
Gripper was arrested in March 2023 and has remained detained since then.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced the conviction alongside Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith. “In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Branch. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant United States Attorneys Charles R. Jones and Anthony Cocuzza, who prosecuted the case.”
