Source: Office of United States Attorneys
WASHINGTON – Ethan Cunningham, 22, of Baltimore, MD was found guilty by a Superior Court jury of two counts of felony murder while armed, and related charges stemming from a May 2022 shooting of James Lee Curtis, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The jury also found Cunningham guilty of one count of first-degree burglary while armed, one count of attempted robbery while armed, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, five counts of PFCOV, one count of carrying a pistol without a license, and one count of possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman scheduled sentencing for March 28, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 9:30 p.m. on May 10, 2022, the victim, James Lee Curtis, was coming home from getting dinner and picking up his roommate. As he was entering his building, the defendant, Ethan Cunningham, and an associate followed Curtis into his apartment building. The defendant brandished a 9mm firearm with an extended magazine and repeatedly assaulted Curtis, demanding he open his apartment door where a child and woman were inside. When Curtis refused to open the door, the defendant continued assaulting him throughout basement area of the apartment building until Curtis’s roommate tried to intervene. The defendant then began shooting, striking Curtis once, and striking his roommate’s backpack. The defendant then stood over the roommate who had fallen to the ground and threatened to shoot him before fleeing the building. Curtis died from his injuries shortly thereafter.
The defendant was arrested on May 30, 2022 and has remained detained since that date.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emma McArthur and Natalie Hynum.