Maserati driver who was cut off and shot at woman, D.C. bystanders is sentenced to 32 years

The driver of a Maserati who responded to being cut off by shooting at a woman’s car and then turning and firing at bystanders in Washington, D.C., was sentenced Monday to over 32 years in prison, prosecutors said.

The woman was struck in the arm during the road-rage shooting by Kenneth Miles Davis Jr. on May 19, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement. The woman's 5-year-old and 11-year-old children were in her car, officials said.

A jury convicted Davis, 45, in January of one count of assault with intent to kill while armed, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

His lawyer, Marnitta L. King, said Davis has already informed the court he will appeal. “Mr. Davis will continue to fight to prove his innocence,” she said.

The violence erupted around 5 p.m. when Davis, who felt he had been cut off in traffic, got out of the Maserati GranTurismo and shot into the woman’s car, officials said.

Security video showed the gunman get out and shoot at the woman’s car as she drove away. He then turned and pointed the weapon at people behind him before he stepped out of frame.

Davis fired 13 rounds — six at the woman’s car and seven at bystanders — the prosecutor’s office said. No one except the woman was shot. The 5-year-old was hurt by broken glass.

The woman whose car was shot identified Davis from a police photo lineup, saying “it was him” and “I’m positive, my heart is pounding,” according to a police arrest warrant affidavit.

In a letter to the judge entered into the record in May, Davis said he maintains his innocence and does not believe he received a fair trial.

Phil Helsel is a reporter for NBC News.