35-year-old Tyrone Curtis of D.C. received a life sentence from a judge on Friday, with all but 15 years suspended, following his conviction in January for the first-degree murder of 29-year-old Amontae Cunningham.
Curtis fatally stabbed Cunningham following a verbal altercation that began on a Metrobus last April. Curtis was found guilty by a jury on January 24th and faced a potential life sentence, according to a press release.
“This was a verbal altercation between strangers that the defendant senselessly escalated,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said at Curtis’ conviction last January. “There was zero justification for the use of a deadly weapon, and he will pay the consequences. We express our heartfelt condolences to the family of Amontae Cunningham and thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Thea Zumwalt and Caitlin Murphy for the successful prosecution of this case.”
The murder arrest and conviction stemmed from an incident last April when Curtis and Cunningham became engaged in a verbal altercation on a Metrobus in Wheaton. Cunningham exited the bus when it stopped in front of 11304 Amherst Avenue. Curtis followed the victim off of the bus with his knife blade out and to his side and then stabbed the victim one time in the upper torso; Cunningham fell on the sidewalk and later died at a hospital.
Surveillance cameras captured video of the incident aboard the Metrobus.
“The State sought a life sentence in this case and finds an executed sentence of 15 years to be stunning,” McCarthy said Friday. “It is inconsistent with the facts of the case and the verdict returned by the jury. Right now, our hearts are with the victim’s family.”
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