Man who drove Jeep onto crowded National Mall during barbecue event sentenced to 18 months

A federal judge sentenced a District man Friday to 18 months in prison for driving onto the National Mall near pedestrians at high speed.

Curtis Lear, 30, drove his black Jeep Patriot onto the National Mall near Seventh Street SW on the evening of June 21 amid an annual barbecue event attended by hundreds of pedestrians. Lear was speeding and making sharp turns, the Justice Department said.

“As soon as he started racing up and down the grass, everybody started screaming and getting out of the way because they were afraid of getting hit,” witness Ferdous Al-Faruque told Washington’s WRC-TV in the initial aftermath of the incident.

A U.S. Capitol Police officer approached Lear’s Jeep, and he rolled down the window to tell the cop his driving was “just a joke.” Another officer reported seeing Lear outside the car yelling and gesturing at pedestrians. When police tried to stop him, Lear fled, the Justice Department said.

The next day, at around 3 a.m., police spotted the Jeep, initiated a traffic stop and caught Lear. On Oct. 10, he pleaded guilty to one count of destruction of government property and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.

In addition to his 18-month prison sentence, Lear will have to pay $9,165 in restitution for the damage caused to the National Mall and to serve three years of supervised release after his jail time.