Sentence for DC man convicted of 2023 murder astonishes Montgomery Co.’s top prosecutor

A Southeast D.C. man was sentenced Friday to life in prison, with all but 15 years suspended and another five years of supervised probation upon release for the deadly stabbing of a Rockville, Maryland, man in 2023.

Tyrone Curtis, 35, was convicted of first-degree murder in January for killing Amontae Cunningham, 29, on April 5, 2023.

Cunningham was a passenger on a Metrobus and had gotten into an argument with Curtis, according to court documents. When the bus stopped in front of a parking garage at 11304 Amherst Avenue in Wheaton, Cunningham got off the bus. Curtis followed, and then stabbed Cunningham in the torso.

Cunningham and Curtis did not know one another before the argument, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Video of the stabbing was captured by the Metrobus’ surveillance cameras.

“The State sought a life sentence in this case and finds an executed sentence of 15 years to be stunning. It is inconsistent with the facts of the case and the verdict returned by the jury. Right now, our hearts are with the victim’s family,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement.

Curtis was sentenced by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Jeannie Cho.

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Matt Small

Matt joined WTOP News at the start of 2020, after contributing to Washington’s top news outlet as an Associated Press journalist for nearly 18 years.

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