Gun Storage Plea Follows Teen's Fatal Shooting
Sentencing for the Southeast Washington case is set for January 15, 2027, in DC Superior Court.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Violence
Washington families and gun owners in Southeast now have a closing chapter in a fatal case: a Southeast Washington man in his thirties pleaded guilty to criminally negligent storage of a firearm after a 15-year-old, Journee Long, was shot and killed on Barnaby Street SE.
Why it matters
The case turns on how a legally owned firearm was kept at home and how easily a minor could reach it, a question that reaches every household with a gun in the District. The judge let the defendant remain on release until sentencing, so the case is not yet final.
The record shows a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and five years in prison, or both, for criminally negligent storage, and the plea offer was changed from a misdemeanor to a felony about 12 hours before the hearing after roughly five weeks of talks. The sentence and any related findings from the homicide investigation remain unresolved until sentencing on January 15, 2027.
The players
DC Superior Court
The District's trial court, where the guilty plea was entered and where the judge will set the sentence.
Judge Hertzfeld
The DC Superior Court judge who accepted the plea and allowed the defendant to remain on release before sentencing.
The details
The defendant, who was initially charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, pleaded guilty in DC Superior Court on November 5 to criminally negligent storage after a Smith & Wesson .357 was kept in an unlocked dress drawer in his bedroom and a minor got to it. The prosecutor agreed not to seek an indictment with additional or greater charges in exchange for the plea, and said newly discovered information in a related homicide made the original offer no longer appropriate. Judge Hertzfeld allowed the defendant to remain on release, and sentencing is set for January 15, 2027, when the court will decide the penalty.
Timeline
June 6: Journee Long, 15, was fatally shot on the 900 block of Barnaby Street SE.
November 5: Guilty plea entered and detention request heard before Judge Hertzfeld in DC Superior Court.
January 15, 2027: Sentencing reconvenes in DC Superior Court.
The District View
The charge applies the District's criminally negligent storage statute, which carries up to a $5,000 fine and five years in prison, to a case where a minor died. It shows how the same offense can be resolved very differently depending on what the prosecution learns in a related investigation.
If you keep a gun at home, check where it is stored and whether a child could reach it, because the District treats unsafe storage as a crime even when no one intended harm. Families and neighbors in Southeast should also know the case remains open until the January sentencing.
The takeaway
Keep this case in mind as a reminder that where a firearm is kept matters legally as well as for safety. Watch for the January 15, 2027 sentencing in DC Superior Court, when the penalty will be decided.
What happens next
Sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2027, in DC Superior Court, when the judge will set the penalty.
Further reading
For more on shootings and the cases that follow them, see Violence coverage across the District.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Dcwitness.
