A teen who murdered a former U.S. military interpreter and father of four was sentenced to just three years in prison by a Washington, D.C., judge.
A 16-year-old fatally shot Nasrat Ahmad Yar during an attempted carjacking in Alexandria in 2023. Yar, a 31-year-old father of four who served as an interpreter for the U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan, had just moved to Alexandria with his family in 2022. At the time of his murder, Yar was the sole provider for his family and had been working for the rideshare company Lyft, trying to make enough money to pay rent.
“He was so happy he got a new car because he could take care of his family,” Yar’s friend Rahim Amini told WUSA9 News after his murder. “His wife asked him to stay home but he said, ‘I have to pay rent. I don’t have that much money. I have to work.’”
Despite calling it a “senseless” act, D.C. Superior Court Judge Kendra Briggs sentenced the murderer to just three years of detention. However, she did double the prosecutors’ requested sentence, as they had reached a plea deal with the murderer that would have seen him serve just 17 months.
A Virgina teenager has been sentenced to three years in prison for the murder of a former Afghan interpreter in 2023. The 16-year-old shooter was not publicly named. 1/5 pic.twitter.com/1E3oF93ggV
— Brodie K. – Analyze & Educate (@AnalyzeEducate) February 16, 2025
The teen could have been given a maximum sentence of five years if he had taken his case to trial and been found guilty — as Washington, D.C., law requires that all juvenile felons be released upon turning 21.
During the sentencing hearing, Briggs stated that “rehabilitation” was a necessary goal that the killer should strive for while he is imprisoned.
“There is a lot of rehabilitation needed here,” the judge said, according to The Washington Post.
“You have suffered trauma as a child, but you also made a very bad decision that resulted in the death of a man,” Briggs added. “I would hope that you take advantage of the rehabilitation services and that you come back to the community a better person.”
Meanwhile, Yar’s family and friends have expressed their frustration over the short sentence.
“In the grand scheme of things what actually would have been justice would have been a sentence that would have been proportionate to him being sentenced to as an adult,” Jeramie Malone, a friend of Yar, said. “I didn’t get the sense that he was actually remorseful.”
