Woman Fatally Shot Helping Friend Move Out Of Apartment, Ex-Boyfriend Sentenced

FORT WASHINGTON, MD — A judge has sentenced a Fort Washington man for killing a woman who was at his apartment to retrieve his ex-girlfriend's belongings.

On Dec. 20, 2024, a jury found Amard Jefferson, 26, guilty of second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a license and obstructing justice.

According to the government’s evidence presented at trial, at approximately 4:28 p.m., on Aug. 7, 2021, in the 3000 block of Nelson Place Southeast, 20-year-old Kendall Brown and two others went to the apartment of Jefferson’s girlfriend to pick up personal items that one of them left behind after moving out of the apartment. An argument broke out between the trio and Jefferson's current girlfriend. Jefferson escalated the argument by grabbing his gun and threatening to "call his men." Then, Jefferson shot Brown.

After locking Brown in the apartment, Jefferson took off with his girlfriend and stashed the murder weapon -- a black 9mm ghost gun – in a drainpipe a few blocks away. After his arrest, Jefferson texted and called his girlfriend from the D.C. Department of Corrections to convince her to falsely take blame for the murder, evidence showed.

Jefferson was sentenced to 27 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.