A man whose shootout with police was caught on video has been sentenced to 90 years in prison.
Steven Warren, 29, pleaded guilty last month to attempted murder and other charges relating to his involvement in the August 2020 home invasion in Landover, Maryland.
As soon as officers arrived at the Capital View Terrace house, dash cam video showed, two men left the house and shot at police as they tried to flee the dead-end road.
In all, three officers were injured by the bullets.
“During the sentencing, the judge indicated that Mr. Warren and the other suspect in this case unleashed terror on our communities, and that is exactly what happened that day,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy. “It was terrifying. The video of the incident was terrifying to everyone.”
Braveboy would not disclose the motive behind the home invasion, or why the two victims, a mother and daughter, were targeted in the robbery, because the other defendant in the case — 47-year-old Andre Smith of Pennsylvania — is set to go on trial next month.
Shortly after the shootout, police released some of the dash cam video that showed just what happened in the neighborhood, which is near FedEx Field.
“Roughly 198 rounds were fired,” said Deputy State’s Attorney Jonathan Church, who prosecuted the case. “On this street, Capital View Terrace, other vehicles were hit. Homes were hit. Bullets went through windows into closets. There’s a kiddie pool out in the back yard of one of the homes. Thank God nobody else was injured.”
Prosecutors went to great lengths to note the bravery and compassion shown by the injured officers to one another, as well as the fact that no one died during the incident.
“When an incident like that happens I thank God for the men and women of the Prince George’s County Police Department and all law enforcement officials who are willing to risk their lives to protect us,” said Braveboy.
“But on that day, they also had to protect themselves, so I want to thank the leadership of the department, because it’s because of the training of the leaders in this department that we didn’t have fatalities that day.”
In particular, she praised Sgt. H. Johnson, who even though he was shot, “because of his bravery, because of his commitment, because of his training, he was checking on his fellow officers. He checked on his fellow officers to see how they were doing, because he was the ranking officer that day. He was in command that day and he did what he was required and what he was trained to do.”
Today, each officer who was injured is back in uniform.
“That’s important,” said Braveboy, “because this is a job that they wanted for quite a long time and they’re all doing very well with respect to their job.
“They’re continuing to work where they can in the department and continue to serve in Prince George’s County,” she added.
“For many of them, life isn’t going to be the same. Some of them suffered severe physical injuries. Some have emotional injuries. None of these injuries are going to go away overnight. They’re going to be with them for the rest of their lives. But they care about the people of Prince George’s County. They want to serve. They want to be police officers and so however they can serve, that’s what they’re going to do.”
Braveboy also said Warren addressed the court at his sentencing hearing.
“He sounded like he was apologetic,” she said. “He took accountability and responsibility.”
