Jajuan Gripper, 22, Convicted of Conspiracy and First-Degree Murder of Rynell Bradford

Friday, August 15, 2025

Defendant and Co-Conspirators Fired At Least 19 Times as Victim Ran Away

            WASHINGTON – Jajuan Gripper, 22, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty today in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on all charges for the December 20, 2022, murder of 34-year-old Rynell Bradford in Northeast D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            The jury deliberated for one day before finding Gripper guilty of charges including conspiracy to commit a crime of violence and first-degree premeditated murder while armed. Judge Michael Ryan scheduled sentencing for October 17, 2025.

            According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 9:40 p.m., on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, Gripper and two co-conspirators, each armed with a handgun, followed Bradford out of an apartment building in the Kenilworth neighborhood of Northeast D.C., where Bradford lived with his fiancé and then four-month-old daughter. After a brief exchange of words, Gripper and his co-conspirators opened fire on Bradford as he ran away from them down a public street in the residential neighborhood. Gripper and his co-conspirators fired a total of at least 19 shots, striking Bradford once in the back of the head, killing him.   

            Gripper was arrested in March 2023 and has been detained since his arrest.

            Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Branch. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant United States Attorneys Charles R. Jones and Anthony Cocuzza, who prosecuted the case.