A 22-year-old D.C. man Nyjell Outler, has been sentenced to 24-and-a-half years in prison for his involvement in a violent incident at a gender-reveal party that left one young man dead and another injured; Outler was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter while armed in the killing of 21-year-old Demetris Johnson and aggravated assault while armed against Daloni Williams, as detailed in an announcement by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
The Superior Court jury's decision in March 2025 led to the sentencing by The Honorable Jason Park, who last Friday saw fit to levy a hefty prison term upon Outler, albeit shorter than the 35 years the government had requested during the sentencing hearing. During that hearing, the government presented the case's egregious details and also apprised the judge of multiple armed assaults and a misdemeanor sex offense that Outler reportedly carried out since his extradition back to D.C. from Florida, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The tragic sequence of events unfolded on March 20, 2021, when Outler, armed with an AK-style rifle known as “Draco” and concealed in a backpack, made his way to a gender-reveal party on Madison St., Northeast. After a brief period, he withdrew the weapon from the backpack and shot Williams at point-blank range when the latter attempted to intervene. Subsequently, Outler fired at a fleeing Demetris Johnson, striking and fatally injuring him in the back, with the chaos unfolding just steps away from dozens of other unsuspecting guests.
Following a nine-day hospital stay after an emergency operation to save his leg and subsequent months of therapy, Williams has endured the physical scars, while the emotional and societal cracks borne of the killing have barely healed. Outler, who had been previously monitored via GPS for possessing another Draco and had snipped off his tracker only two hours after the crime, evaded capture for close to a year and even became one of the U.S. Marshals Service’s Top 15 Most Wanted before an anonymous tip led to his arrest in Florida in February 2022, as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department have recognized the efforts of those involved in bringing the case to a conclusion, from the initial investigation by the Metropolitan Police to the prosecution team, which included Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis Clark, Kristian Hinson, and Yasmin Emrani, as well as various support staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who played crucial roles in the case's development.
