The D.C. man who opened fire inside Tysons Corner Center Mall last summer, sparking fear among shoppers, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Noah Settles, 23, faced up to 33 years in prison after he entered an Alford plea on four felony counts in February. He was sentenced by a Fairfax County judge Friday to three years in prison for felony firearm possession and 10 years of probation on the other counts.
In addition, Settles is not allowed to return to the mall again.
“Today, the justice system has shown that perpetrators of gun violence will be held accountable for their actions,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a news release Friday. “Firing a gun into a public space is a serious crime, one that endangered our community members and threatened their future sense of safety. In cases like these, it is the prosecutor’s job to ensure accountability and use the tools at our disposal to prevent this sort of dangerous incident from happening again.”
Video footage from mall surveillance cameras and bystanders’ phones showed Settles getting into an altercation with a group of young people when the shooting occurred on June 18, 2022. The footage, which was played during court hearings, showed Settles briefly retreating from the argument twice and then turning around to fire three shots near a mall kiosk.
Nobody was struck by the bullets, but three people were injured during the panicked mall evacuation that followed.
Settles, a rap artist who goes by the name “No Savage,” was identified by police as the suspected gunman the day after the shooting. He turned himself into police on June 22, 2022.
The day after Settles was taken into custody, Fairfax County police said during a news conference that the shooting was the result of “beef” between two rival Southeast D.C. gangs — the 37th Street Crew and the Simple City Crew. According to authorities, Settles was associated with the 37th Street Crew.
Attorneys representing Settles released a statement Friday that said they were pleased with the sentence. The statement said that Settles had apologized in court and “had demonstrated growth and maturity” since turning himself into police.
— Greenspun Shapiro PC (@GreenspunLaw) June 24, 2023
Settles’ defense attorney Peter Greenspun had previously argued that Settles was being threatened and was acting in self-defense when he opened fire and that did not fire at anyone specifically.
He also said Settles was overcharged and should have only been facing misdemeanor charges.
