Illegal gun supplier sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for murder of 13-year-old

WASHINGTON — A D.C. man was sentenced to 108 years and six months in prison for first-degree murder and other charges related to the 2020 killing of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes.

Stephon Nelson, 33, and two co-defendants — Tyiion Freeman and Koran Jackson — were found guilty of first-degree murder while armed, several counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, conspiracy to commit various firearms offenses and other gun-related charges. 

Prosecutors say Nelson illegally supplied guns and the trio participated in a series of violent crimes in the District. Nelson's sentencing follows last week's sentencing of Freeman and Jackson, who will respectively serve 108 and 164 years in prison.

According to authorities, the defendants were part of neighborhood crews and Nelson was a known felon. He supplied firearms involved in a series of crew-related shootings in the Petworth, Shaw, and Stronghold neighborhoods between Feb. and May 2020. Lukes was shot and killed during one of those shooting sprees on March 1, 2020, in the 600 block of S Street Northwest. 

Lukes was walking with friends to play basketball when he was shot in the back while trying to run away. His death was reported to be part of a retaliation attempt in a dispute between rival crews that killed a man on the same block in Sept. 2019.