Gaithersburg Man Sentenced For His Role in Drive-By Shooting That Killed Teenager

Trey Prillerman, 19, Nelfy Hernandez, 20, both of Washington, D.C., and Deandre Levy, 22, of Gaithersburg, MD, were sentenced today for their roles in an August 2020 drive-by shooting that claimed the life of 17-year-old Taijhon Wyatt.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, “The Honorable Maribeth Raffinan sentenced Prillerman to 17 years in prison; Hernandez to 13 years in prison; and Levy to eight years in prison. Defendants Prillerman and Hernandez pleaded guilty, in August of 2023, to second degree murder while armed; Levy pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed. Hernandez, additionally, pleaded guilty to felony assault for assaulting a DYRS guard in a separate incident.

According to the government’s evidence, on August 10, 2020, at approximately 9:30 p.m., the victim, Taijhon Wyatt, was walking with a group of friends in an alley near 9^th and Kennedy St., NW. A stolen vehicle driven by defendant Prillerman arrived at the mouth of the alley where defendants Hernandez and Levy opened fire into Taijhon’s group, killing him and wounding another individual who was with him.

The three defendants fled the area in the stolen car, which was subsequently recovered outside of Baltimore. Officers arrived a short time after the shooting and discovered the teenager suffering from gunshot wounds. He died at the scene.”

This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Forman and Dennis Clark.