Reginald Steele, Jr., 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on March 20 to 107 years in prison for the killing of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes and a separate shooting incident in the Petworth neighborhood, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine F. Pirro.
The sentencing follows Steele’s conviction on November 19, 2025, for first-degree murder while armed, multiple counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and other firearm-related charges. Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt handed down the sentence.
“Reginald Steele Jr. and his crew hunted down 13-year-old Malachi Lukes, who was walking to a basketball court, shooting him in the back as he ran for his life. Gang violence poses a grave threat to our communities and for these gang members—those days are over,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Today, justice has caught up with a man who showed complete disregard for human life. Justice has been served, and our city is safer because of it.”
According to prosecutors, Steele and four co-defendants were members or associates of several neighborhood crews involved in an ongoing feud with street crews from Ninth Street between 2019 and 2020 over territorial disputes and rivalries involving local figures known as Slatt Goon and Slime Goon. The conflict escalated after the death of Slatt Goon in September 2019.
On March 1, 2020, Steele and three others drove through Ninth Street territory searching for rivals when they encountered Lukes walking with friends toward a basketball court on S Street NW. The group followed the boys before two defendants exited their vehicle and fired eleven shots into an alley where Lukes was fleeing; he was struck in the back and died at the scene while another victim was wounded in the leg.
Afterward, Steele and his co-defendants traveled to another area associated with Ninth Street but no injuries were reported from that subsequent shooting.
Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department joined Pirro in announcing the sentence. Both officials commended investigators from multiple agencies including federal law enforcement partners as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle Jackson, Tamara Rubb, and Nebiyu Feleke for their work prosecuting this case.
