District of Columbia
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Previously Convicted Murderer Found Guilty for an April 2021 HomicideRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Darrell Moore, 47, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty today, by a Superior Court jury, of first-degree murder while armed and other related firearm charges, in connection with the April 2021 murder of Julius Hayes, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Moore faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 3:50 p.m. on April 3, 2021, Moore drove to the 300 block of 18th Street, NE, in a black sedan. There, Moore approached Mr. Hayes. The two began to argue, but Mr. Hayes walked away from the confrontation. Moore, however, ran at Mr. Hayes, pulled out a handgun and shot Mr. Hayes multiple times in the middle of the street. Moore then went back to the sedan where he paused for a bit, but decided to return to Mr. Hayes to continue the attack. Moore left the area driving south on 18th Street. Officers and medics responded to the scene and discovered Mr. Hayes lying between two parked cars. Mr. Hayes was pronounced dead after he was rushed to the hospital. Moore was arrested on May 11, 2021 and has been in custody since.
In 1995, at the age of 16, Moore was tried as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder while armed, felony murder, and other charges for the brutal home invasion-killing of a child and the attempted murders of the child’s mother and aunt. Moore committed this crime with his twin brother, who was also convicted and remains incarcerated. On August 7, 2020, Moore was released, over the government’s objection, after receiving a sentence reduction under the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA). Nine months after his release, Moore executed Mr. Hayes in broad daylight in the middle of the street.
Moore was arrested on May 11, 2021 and has been in custody since.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martin commended the work of those investigating the case from the MPD, United States Attorney’s Office, ATF Washington Field Division, FBI Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service, D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences, DC Department of Corrections, and the United States Marshals Service. Finally, the U.S. Attorney commended Assistant United States Attorneys Nebiyu Feleke and Michael C. Lee for their work in prosecuting this case.
Guilty Plea Secured in Conspiracy to Commit Firearms TraffickingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Juwon Anderson, 22, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Washington Field Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 5, 2025. The defendant was arrested on December 15, 2023, and has been detained ever since.
Others charged in the conspiracy are: Vincent Lee Alston, aka “Vedo,” 22, and Niquan Odumn, aka “Stickz” and “Debo,” 22, all of Washington, D.C., and Cy’Juan Hemsley, aka “Juan,” 18, of District Heights, Maryland, and Tyjuan McNeal, 28, of Washington, D.C
According to the court documents, on December 13, 2023, the defendant and at least four co-conspirators drove from Washington, D.C. to the A & D pawn shop in Maryland in two vehicles. Once at the A & D pawn shop, one of the co-conspirators used a portable saw to cut the locks on a pull-down security gate covering the entrance to the A & D Pawn Shop. Another co-conspirator then used a crowbar-type tool to pry open the main door to the A&D Pawn Shop. Another co-conspirator then used a crowbar-type tool to pry open the main door to the A & D pawn shop. After breaking into the A & D pawn shop, the defendant and four other co-conspirators then entered the store, grabbed firearms from the store’s shelves and display racks, and left the store with firearms. In total, the defendant and his co-conspirators stole at least 34 firearms from the A & D Pawn shop. Anderson and his co-conspirators then used social media to advertise the sale of the stolen firearms. Two days after the burglary, on December 15, 2023, Anderson was arrested with two of the stolen firearms.
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division and the Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the ATF Baltimore Field Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shehzad Akhtar and Ryan Lipes.
Armed Carjacking Spree and Shooting at Police Officers Nets District Man 17 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tywan J. Cummings, 44, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 204 months in federal prison for an armed carjacking spree in May 2020 that led to a car chase with police, his firing shots on police officers, and his burglarizing an occupied residence where he was eventually caught hiding.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., for the District of Columbia, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Cummings pleaded guilty August 18, 2023, in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia to carjacking; using, possessing, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence; and assaulting, resisting, or interfering with a police officer with a dangerous weapon. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Cummings to serve five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on the morning of May 17, 2020, in the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast Washington, D.C., Cummings pointed an AR-style rifle at a man who was putting air into his tire of his BMW 325i on the 1200 block of Raum Street. Cummings took the vehicle at gunpoint. Cummings then drove the BMW, with the valve of the pump still attached to the tire, into Maryland and, minutes later, carjacked a nurse of her Hyundai Tucson at gunpoint outside a hospital in Prince George’s County. In the early morning hours of May 18, 2023, multiple Maryland law enforcement agencies from the Bowie, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County Police Departments pursued Cummings—who was by this time driving a stolen Honda Ridgeline—into Southeast Washington, D.C. MPD officers were also on scene to assist.
At the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue SE and Alabama Avenue SE, Cummings crashed the Honda into another car near a gas station. On foot with police in pursuit, Cummings fired multiple shots on Maryland and MPD police officers with a handgun. Shortly after 2 a.m., Cummings broke into an occupied residence on the 3900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE and hid in an upstairs bedroom. Police declared a barricade at 2:28 a.m.
Members of the MPD’s Emergency Response Team responded and apprehended Cummings. Officers recovered a .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun, the AR-style rifle from the stolen vehicle, and over 100 rounds of ammunition. No victim sustained physical injuries during the spree. Cummings has been in custody since his arrest.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department with valuable assistance provided by the Bowie Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County Police Department. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Emory V. Cole and Paul V. Courtney.
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“Redbull Guy” Sentenced to 40 Months of Incarceration for String of CVS TheftsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Darryl Quander, 58, of Washington, DC, was sentenced on February 28, 2025 to 40 months incarceration, for one count of first-degree theft and three counts of felony enhanced second degree theft, for a string of retail thefts at CVS stores over a span of two months, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Quander pleaded guilty on December 17, 2024, in D.C. Superior Court to one count of first-degree theft and three counts of felony enhanced second-degree theft. The Honorable Judge Errol Arthur sentenced Quander to 12 months suspended to all but four months in prison on the first-degree theft charge and 16 months with all suspended except for 12 months on each felony enhanced second-degree theft charge. All four counts were ordered to run consecutive to one another and Quander’s incarceration is to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, between February 26, 2024, and April 24, 2024, Quander committed a string of thefts, mostly at the same CVS stores located in the 1000 block of 16th Street, N.W and the 1400 block of P Street NW. During that period, Quander committed 24 retail thefts over the course of 58 days. In each instance, Quander was seen on surveillance camera entering the stores, taking merchandise, specifically Red Bull and other merchandise, from the shelves, and leaving the stores without paying for the merchandise. Quander stole over $3,500 in merchandise during his crime spree.
Quander was arrested for these offenses on June 10, 2024.
In announcing the indictments and the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Former D.C. Public Official Sentenced to 15 Months for Bank FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Wendy Nicole Villatoro, 40, formerly of Washington, D.C., was sentenced February 28, 2025 in U.S. District Court to 15 months in federal prison for submitting fraudulent applications seeking money from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that netted her $844,000.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Special Agent in Charge Charmeka Parker of the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General (USDA OIG) Northeast Region, and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of the Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Eastern Region.
Villatoro, a former D.C. Homeland Security Commissioner and former employee with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, pleaded guilty November 14, 2024, to bank fraud. In addition to the 15-month prison sentence, the Honorable Carl J. Nichols ordered Villatoro to serve two years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, between March 31, 2020, and August 4, 2021, Villatoro submitted eight PPP loan applications with various financial institutions and 15 Economic Injury Disaster (EID) loans with the Small Business Administration (SBA), all of which contained materially false statements. In order to get money from PPP lenders or the SBA, Villatoro submitted loans on behalf of fake businesses and inflated the number of employees, the average monthly payroll, the gross yearly revenue, or the cost of goods sold. In doing so, she tried to steal between $2.6 million and $5.5 million. While most of Villatoro’s loan applications were denied, she successfully secured over $844,000 in PPP and EID funds. Villatoro used the funds to pay off her student loans, pay off the car loan on a BMW SUV, and buy luxury items.
As part of her plea agreement, Villatoro agreed to pay $844,415.24 in restitution to the U.S. Government and to forfeit items purchased with proceeds of the offense, including over 70 pieces of designer clothing and jewelry and a BMW SUV.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
The PPP allowed qualifying small-businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1 percent. PPP loan proceeds were required to be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be forgiven if the business spent the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time after receiving the proceeds and used at least a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.
The EIDL program was designed to provide economic relief to small businesses that were experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. EIDL proceeds were intended for a wide array of working capital and normal operating expenses, such as continuation of health care benefits, rent, utilities and fixed debt payments. If an applicant also obtained a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds were not to be used for the same purpose as the PPP funds.
The case was investigated jointly by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, USDA-OIG, and SBA-OIG. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI Washington Field Office Asset Forfeiture Unit.
This matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared English and Rick Blaylock, Jr. Valuable assistance was provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Connor Mullin, Anna Forgie, and Paul V. Courtney.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.
D.C. Man Convicted of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, and Drug DistributionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Deangelo Lorenzo Lewis, 28, of Washington D.C., was found guilty today of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 30, 2025.
The conviction was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and United States Marshal Robert A. Dixon, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean T. Ryan of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division,
According to court documents, Deputy U.S. Marshals arrested Lewis on October 3, 2023, in an apartment that he had rented using a stolen identity. After securing Lewis and the apartment, Deputy U.S. Marshals applied for, received, and executed a search warrant on the apartment where they discovered more than $150,000 worth of checks that appeared to have been stolen from the U.S. mail, a check printer, and blank check stock, as well as driver’s licenses and social security cards issued to persons other than Lewis. Deputy U.S. Marshals also discovered a Century Arms, Micro Draco 7.62 x 39mm semi-automatic assault pistol, two 9mm handgun magazines, and approximately 1 ½ pounds of marijuana packaged for distribution. The Micro Draco was loaded with 26 rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber.
The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service with assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James B. Nelson, Justin F. Song, Jacqueline O. Yarbro and Paralegal Specialist Jenna Lee.
Cocaine Delivery Service Driver Is Sentenced to 41 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Dusan Dimic, 41, of Reston, Virginia., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 41 months in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation that used Zipcars, rental cars, and privately owned vehicles to deliver cocaine to customers throughout the Northwest.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Dimic pleaded guilty on November 12, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. In addition to the 41-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered Dimic to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in August 2022, members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) began an investigation into individuals operating a narcotics delivery service, operating primarily in Northwest Washington, D.C. using rental vehicles and rideshare services.
Undercover law enforcement agents conducted 14 controlled purchases of illegal narcotics from Dimic’s co-conspirator. Dimic served as either the driver for the co-conspirator or arranged for a driver to drive the co-conspirator to distribute narcotics. During the undercover controlled purchases, Dimic frequently sat in the driver’s seat, the co-conspirator always sat in the front passenger’s seat, and the undercover agent (as the customer) sat in the rear passenger’s seat. The drug transactions took place immediately next to Dimic while he remained in the driver’s seat.
Dimic typically conducted drug transactions on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Dimic typically began his route by driving to a supermarket on the 2200 block of I Street NW, to meet his co-conspirator. The two men then proceeded to pick up various individuals, meeting with them for a brief period to engage in narcotics sales.
Zipcar records show Dimic’s name listed on the account and Dimic’s credit card on file as the form of payment for the vehicles used during the conspiracy. On certain days, when Dimic was not the driver, he would provide transportation and drivers for his co-conspirator.
At approximately 5:24 p.m. on September 21, 2023, law enforcement arrested Dimic and his co-defendant. From Dimic, law enforcement recovered 90 grams of cocaine located on the front driver’s side floorboard, a small blue bag with Dimic’s identification cards, his cell phone, and $2,304.51 in cash. From the co-defendant, law enforcement recovered $4,454.74 in cash, a blue bookbag containing multiple eyeglass containers with 483 grams of cocaine, and a medicine bottle containing 90 grams of methamphetamine pills located on the front passenger floorboard.
During the course of the conspiracy, Dimic and his co-conspirators sold an average of 56 grams of cocaine per day from August 2022 to August 2023.
This case was investigated by the DEA and the MPD. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Iris McCranie and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Rasalam with valuable assistance from Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary Crosby and Lauren Randall.
Maryland Man Indicted for Armed Rape Committed in January 2012 in NE Washington D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Cristian Josue Arteaga, 35, formerly of Hyattsville, Maryland, was indicted yesterday by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on multiple counts of first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances, stemming from a January 22, 2012 armed rape of a victim in Northeast Washington D.C., U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced.
Arteaga will be arraigned before the Honorable Jason Park. If convicted of the charges, Arteaga faces a maximum of life in prison without possibility of release and lifetime sex offender registration.
According to the government’s evidence as summarized in the arrest warrant, on January 22, 2012, at approximately 2:30 a.m., the victim was walking home from the Ft. Totten Metro station after finishing her shift at work. As the victim approached her home, Arteaga—a stranger—approached her and asked what time it was. The victim responded by pulling out her phone and relaying the time. Arteaga then brandished a small black handgun, demanded money and made a crude sexual demand while pointing the gun in her face. Arteaga shoved the victim into her neighbor’s carport, pushed her down, and raped her multiple times at gunpoint. Following the assault, Arteaga threatened the victim not to report the assault to police, saying he would kill her if she reported, and then fled the scene.
Due to the threats, the victim was afraid to call police to her home and waited until the following morning to report the rape to police. The victim subsequently obtained a rape kit and crime scene technicians processed the crime scene for evidence. Evidence collected in connection with the offense was tested for DNA promptly in 2012. The DNA profile of an unknown male was obtained from the testing and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a DNA database maintained by the FBI. There were no hits in the database and the case went cold.
On December 19, 2023, the Texas Department of Public Safety issued an NDIS CODIS offender letter, reflecting a match between the unknown male DNA profile that had been entered in CODIS from the 2012 armed rape and Texas offender Cristian Josue Arteaga. Detectives traveled to Texas and lawfully collected a known DNA sample from Arteaga and submitted it for testing and comparison to the evidence from the armed rape that was previously tested in 2012. The DNA testing provided very strong support for inclusion of Arteaga’s and the victim’s DNA profiles being present in the evidence.
Arteaga has been in custody since his arrest and was brought to the District of Columbia in January 2025 to face these charges.
This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Indictment Returned on June 2024 Shooting in Northeast D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Bryant Russell, 46, of Monroe, North Carolina, was indicted yesterday by a grand jury on aggravated assault while armed and other charges stemming from a shooting that occurred on June 6, 2024, in the Deanwood neighborhood of Northeast D.C., U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced.
On February 26, 2025, Russell was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of aggravated assault while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm (prior conviction). Russell faces a maximum of 30 years in prison if convicted of the charges. The aggravated assault charge was brought under the D.C. Council’s Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024. The change in the law recognizes all gunshot wounds as serious bodily injury.
According to the government’s evidence, Russell fired a single gunshot from the sidewalk at the victim—who was seated on his porch, smoking—and struck the victim in the right arm.
Following the shooting, Russell fled the scene. He was arrested on June 7, 2024 and has been in custody since his arrest.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Green. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Cocuzza.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 114 Months for Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Rashid Lamont McFadden, 29, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 114 months in prison for distributing videos depicting the violent rape of prepubescent children by adults, images of young children engaged in sadistic and masochistic acts, and images of children engaging in sexual acts with animals.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean T. Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.
McFadden pleaded guilty on May 29, 2024, to one count of distribution of child pornography. In addition to the 141-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols ordered McFadden to serve 15 years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on February 16, 2023, an undercover officer (UC) from the FBI Washington Field Office was monitoring an online messaging application where individuals met, discussed, and traded sexually explicit images and videos of children. The UC observed an individual identified as “tng6” post a video of child sexual exploitation to the group. Shortly thereafter, tng6 responded to a conversation about meeting other likeminded pedophiles and their children. At that point, the UC initiated a private chat with tng6, who was later identified as McFadden.
As the UC chatted with McFadden, McFadden continued to post child sex videos to the group. McFadden told the UC that he knew the children in the videos and had produced some of the videos himself. The UC then claimed to be the father of an 8-year-old daughter and that he would show McFadden images of the purported girl on FaceTime.
On February 17, 2023, Baltimore Police arrested McFadden on an unrelated matter. On February 21, law enforcement executed a search warrant at McFadden’s home in Baltimore and seized McFadden’s cell phone. McFadden refused to provide the passcode for the phone. Law enforcement reviewed the contents of McFadden’s cloud storage account and found several videos and images of children being sexually abused by adults.
McFadden is currently facing additional criminal charges for possession of child pornography in a separate case pending in the Circuit Court for Maryland in Baltimore County.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Division, and the Baltimore Police Department. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.
The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Shinskie.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Jury Finds District Man Guilty of Assault with Significant Bodily Injury & Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – John Brown III, 32, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of assault with significant bodily injury related to an incident that took place in Southeast Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The verdict was returned on February 25, 2025, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where the defendant was also found guilty of three counts of obstructing justice and seven counts of contempt for coordinating subsequent coercive outreach in an attempt to discourage the victim’s participation in the court process, The Honorable Deborah Israel scheduled sentencing for May 16, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, on July 4, 2023, the victim hosted a small game night attended by Brown, the father of her five-year-old son. When the party ended, all of the victim’s friends, but one, went home. While the remaining friend prepared to sleep on the couch, the victim went into her room and found Brown waiting for her. When she came in, the defendant started to berate her—even though Brown and the victim were no longer a couple, he was furious she had had a relationship with one of his friends. He repeatedly punched the victim in the face, then started to strangle her. The victim’s friend heard the noise and came running, tackling Brown and urging the victim to run. The victim tried but the defendant grabbed her ankle. Brown chased after the victim and struck her, causing her to fall onto the floor of her bathroom where she hit her head and passed out. Even after she woke up, the defendant continued to assault her until she and her friend were able to escape and call police. The complainant was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for injuries to her face, neck, and the blood vessels in her eye.
Although a Court ordered Brown to have no contact with the victim, directly or through third parties, he quickly started urging friends and family members to contact the victim and pressure her to drop the charges. He told one friend to tell the victim he would CashApp her that day if the charges were dropped; asked a family member to reach out to the victim daily to tell her to get the case thrown out; and even spent months urging his five-year-old son to “tell mommy to drop the case so dada can come home.” This pressure campaign against the complainant resulted in multiple convictions for obstructing justice and for violating the Court’s Stay Away Order.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Roessler and Amanda Swanson, from the Domestic Violence Felonies Unit, who prosecuted the case.
Three-Time Convicted Felon Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Devin Devaun, 26, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 30 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a revolver and ammunition in December 2023 while he was on supervised release for two prior unlawful firearm possession convictions.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
On November 15, 2024, during a stipulated facts bench trial, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan found Devaun guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. In addition to imposing the 30-month prison sentence, Judge Chutkan ordered Devaun to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on December 17, 2023, members of the MPD’s Violent Crimes Suppression Division’s Robbery Suppression Unit were patrolling along the Georgia Avenue corridor in the 4th District based on a spree of robberies that had occurred there. The MPD issued a BOLO or a “be on the lookout for” with regard to one of these particular robberies.
Around 12:10 a.m., the officers observed a group of at least four individuals jaywalking across Georgia Avenue NW at the intersection of Longfellow Street NW, whom the officers believed matched the description of the suspects in the BOLO. One of the officers observed that one of the individuals had a rectangular-shaped object protruding downward in his front groin area, inconsistent with human anatomy and not in a spot where people typically keep cell phones or other objects.
As one of the officers approached that individual, the individual began looking from side to side as if he were attempting to look for an avenue of escape. That individual then took off running southbound on Georgia Avenue NW, tripping as he ran down the sidewalk. Two of the officers quickly caught up with him. The officers handcuffed the defendant, and as an officer patted the defendant down, the officer felt a hard object that he recognized as a firearm. At this point, the firearm had slid down the defendant’s right pants leg. A few minutes later, another officer cut a hole in the defendant’s right pants leg, removing a holstered .357 caliber revolver loaded with six rounds.
The defendant was prohibited from possessing a firearm based on three previous felony convictions: a 2016 robbery conviction, a 2017 conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm, and a 2021 felon conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm.
This case was investigated by the MPD’s Violent Crimes Suppression Division’s Robbery Suppression Unit. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Svetoslavov. Valuable assistance was provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Mirabelli.
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Robber Sentenced for Stealing 87-Year-Old’s Wallet at a McDonald’s in Northwest D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Aaron Herndon, 39, of Suitland, MD, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for the robbery of an 87-year-old in Northwest D.C. on May 5, 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Herndon pleaded guilty on December 17, 2024. Superior Court Judge Jason Park also ordered three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 1:00 p.m., on May 5, 2024, the 87-year-old victim was purchasing gift cards from the McDonald’s restaurant located at 4100 Wisconsin Avenue NW. Video footage from the restaurant shows the defendant approach the victim from behind, as he was exiting the restroom, and reach into the victim’s jacket pocket, and take his wallet. Multiple witnesses observed Herndon flee on foot. Herndon was subsequently arrested later the same day by law enforcement, wearing the same clothing he wore at the time of the robbery.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Negar Kordestani and Trisha Jhunjhnuwala of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Skopicki.
Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to Life in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Victor Armando Simms, 54, a previously convicted sex offender who most recently lived in Southeast Washington D.C., was sentenced today to life in federal prison in connection with his sexual abuse of multiple young girls, recording many of the incidents, and amassing a library of 3,300 still images and over 250 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Chief Sean Ryan of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Simms, aka “Stacey Patrick Simms,” pleaded guilty on May 20, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to first degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse with children, three counts of sexual exploitation of children, and possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, law enforcement was called on January 15, 2023, when a young girl discovered explicit images of child sexual abuse depicting herself on an iPad belonging to Simms. The same day, Simms was formally placed under arrest and charged by complaint with one count of first-degree child sexual abuse in D.C. Superior Court.
On January 17, 2023, the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force executed a search warrant at Simms’s residence and seized multiple electronic devices including an iPad and a one-terabyte external hard drive. In addition, law enforcement agents seized numerous pills and pill bottles, which were believed to be used to sedate the young victims. Many of the videos produced by Simms showed the young victims asleep during the sexual assaults.
The forensic examination of the external hard drive revealed 3300 still images and 250 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, many of which included metadata indicating the date, time, and location where the file was initially produced. The metadata indicated that the minor female victims were sexually exploited and abused by Simms in Washington D.C., and at hotels in Maryland and Virginia. The investigation into this matter also revealed that Simms has engaged in acts of child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of minors since approximately 1997.
According to court documents, Simms is a previously adjudicated sex offender. He was convicted in North Carolina in 2005 of indecent liberties with a six-year-old child and a felony child sex act.
According to court documents, Simms used drugs to incapacitate some of the children, but not all, to make it easier to abuse them and to ensure they had no memory of his criminal conduct. He recorded the sexual abuse of these children, including anally and vaginally penetrating them, to ensure he had souvenirs of his crimes to carry with him. He raped and abused at least ten young victims.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents and detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn Bond, Sarah Folse, and Caroline Burrell. The prosecution team received valuable assistance from Victim-Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant and Paralegal Specialist Melissa Macechko, as well as former Paralegal Specialist Alexis Spencer-Anderson.
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Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for a Stabbing Outside of a ShelterRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Willie Byrd, 61, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for stabbing another man outside of a shelter in February 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe sentenced Byrd to concurrent sentences of 15 years in prison for aggravated assault while armed and three years in prison for carrying a dangerous weapon, and five years of supervised release. Byrd was found guilty by a Superior Court jury on November 20, 2024.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 8:30 pm, on February 28, 2023, Byrd stabbed the victim in the chest with a large fixed-blade knife near the corner of 2nd and D Streets, N.W. Before the stabbing occurred, the defendant was trying to take money from the victim while attempting to conduct a drug transaction. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries to multiple organs and required surgery and an extended hospital stay. MPD officers and detectives reviewed surveillance video footage of the stabbing from the nearby Federal City Shelter, which led to Byrd’s identification as the assailant. MPD detectives located Byrd inside of the shelter, and he was placed under arrest.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They commended the work those who assisted with the case’s preparation from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Renee Prather and Paralegal Specialist Marcella Trader. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant United States Attorneys Erica Rudolf and Ella Gladman, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Evans, who investigated the case.
Carjacker Sentenced to 96-Month Prison Term for Carjacking Valet Driver in Southeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Raymond Davese, 38, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for carjacking a valet driver using a taser, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Davese pleaded guilty on November 13, 2024, before D.C. Superior Court Judge Heidi M. Pasichow, to one count of carjacking and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.
According to the government’s evidence, Davese carjacked a valet driver on June 7, 2024. The victim had just parked a client’s SUV in the parking garage at 221 Tingey Street Southeast when Davese attacked her from behind, put her in a headlock, and deployed a taser into her neck. After Davese brought the victim to the ground, he took the keys from her and drove away in the SUV. Davese crashed the SUV a short distance later, and was apprehended on the scene by members of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Davese has been in custody since his arrest on June 7, 2024.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, and the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parron, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Armed Robber Who Also Assaulted a Correctional Officer Gets 104 Month Prison TermRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Donnell Godfrey, 19, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, to 72 months in prison for robbing a stranger at gunpoint and a consecutive 32 months in prison for assaulting a D.C. Department of Corrections officer while incarcerated at the D.C. Jail, for a combined sentence of 104 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Godfrey pleaded guilty to one count of robbery while armed with a firearm in May 2024 and one count of assault with significant bodily injury in November 2024, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
According to the government’s evidence, on November 21, 2023, at approximately 3:27 a.m., Godfrey and two other individuals approached a stranger on a residential street. The victim was parking his car and had just exited his vehicle. Godfrey and the two other individuals, all armed with firearms, pointed their guns at the victim and demanded his property. Godfrey and the two other assailants stole the victim’s phone and car keys, demanding that he unlock his phone and let them into his home. The victim refused. Godfrey and the two other assailants returned to their vehicle with the victim’s stolen phone and drove away. The victim tracked his stole phone to a nearby location, where the officers apprehended Godfrey and a co-defendant. A black Glock pistol, the victim’s phone, and keys to a Nissan vehicle were recovered from Godfrey’s pockets. The victim positively identified Godfrey as one of his assailants. Officers canvassed the area near the location where Godfrey was apprehended and located a Nissan Maxima, which was reported stolen the prior day, November 20, 2023, during a gunpoint armed carjacking.
Furthermore, on April 24, 2024, while incarcerated at D.C. Jail on the above-mentioned armed robbery case, Godfrey assaulted a correctional officer. The officer was monitoring inmates during an education period when Godfrey attempted to turn on a television. When the officer instructed Godfrey not to turn on the television, Godfrey responded by retrieving a broom, despite having no custodial duties at the time. After remarking that he should smack the officer, Godfrey proceeded to hold the broom like a baseball bat and swung it directly into the officer’s face. The blow caused the officer to suffer a fractured orbital bone in his left eye socket area and a fractured jaw, requiring two surgeries and additional treatment, during which the officer was unable to work for months.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and D.C. Department of Corrections. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Toogun, Valerie Tsesarenko and Ariel Lieberman, who investigated and prosecuted the cases.
Armed Carjacker Indicted on 35 Counts for 2024 Crime SpreeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Lamontee Fowler, 21, of Washington, D.C., was arraigned today on a 35-count indictment filed on February 19, 2025, relating to an armed carjacking spree that occurred in April and May 2024 in Southeast Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Fowler was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of armed carjacking, armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, endangerment with a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, and related charges.
According to the government’s evidence, Fowler engaged in a spree of armed carjackings on April 27, 2024, May 2, 2024, and May 8, 2024, all within blocks of each other in Southeast Washington, D.C. On April 27, 2024, he knocked on the window of the victim’s Toyota Rav 4 with the handle of a firearm, ordered the victim out of the driver’s seat, fired the gun, took the victim’s car keys, and fled the scene in the car. On May 2, 2024, he ran up behind the victim after she had exited her Honda Civic, pointed a firearm at the victim’s stomach, demanded her keys, and then fled the scene in her car. On May 8, 2024, he approached the victim after she had parked her Nissan Rogue on the street, brandished a firearm, grabbed her keys, and fled in her car. Then, on May 10, 2024, after arriving at his then-girlfriend’s residence in the carjacked Nissan Rogue, he fired a shot near his then-girlfriend’s father through the driver’s side window of the car. In a search warrant executed at his residence two weeks later, on May 24, 2024, the Metropolitan Police Department found a 9mm ghost gun with a 31-round capacity extended magazine underneath Fowler’s pillow.
At the arraignment today, Fowler was ordered detained by Judge Robert Salerno.
This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Claire Hoover and Sabena Auyeung of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
PDS Gang Leader Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Firearms PossessionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Andre Alonte Willis, 33, of Washington, D.C., and a leader of the Push Dat Shit (PDS) street crew, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 240 months in prison on five felony convictions related to drug trafficking and firearms offenses in the District of Columbia.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean T. Ryan of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Washington Field Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
On September 12, 2024, a jury convicted Willis, also known as “Boogie,” of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana; conspiracy to use, carry, and possess firearms and machine guns in furtherance of drug trafficking; illegal possession and transfer of a machine gun; possession with intent to distribute marijuana; and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Evidence at trial proved that Willis was a “big homie” in the D.C. street crew known as “Push Dat Shit” or “PDS,” and was the gang’s primary source of exotic strains of marijuana that he acquired from a variety of sources in California. FBI agents seized $150,000 in cash, along with a loaded handgun and marijuana packaged for distribution from Willis’ apartment when he was arrested.
PDS maintained gang territory on the 3300 – 3500 blocks of Wheeler Road, Southeast, and adjacent areas, and operated an open air drug market outside the Holiday Market. In approximately August 2018, PDS became allied with a neighboring street gang known as Jugg Gang, or “JG.” Between August 2018 and April 2023, members of the allied PDS/JG street crew sold drugs from Holiday Market and from “trap houses” that they maintained in apartment buildings surrounding that location.
As their drug business grew, PDS/JG became the target of drive-by shootings conducted by rival gangs – shootings they referred to as “spinning the block.” Beginning in approximately August 2019, a PDS/JG member began assembling and distributing fully automatic AR-Pistol assault rifles that he purchased as “kits” from online retailers. Such firearms are defined as “privately made firearms” by the ATF but are frequently referred to as “ghost guns” on the street. PDS/JG members used, carried, and possessed these “ghost gun” AR-Pistol machine guns in order to both defend their territory from rival gangs, but also to “spin the block” on rival gangs in order to deter and dissuade the rivals from entering PDS/JG territory. PDS/JG members “kept score” with rival gangs, and the points earned by “spinning the block” varied depending on the “importance” of the people that were injured or killed
In calculating Willis’ sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson included sentencing enhancements based on her finding that the conspiracy involved between 400 and 700 kilograms of marijuana, as well as her findings that Willis was a leader of more than five people in jointly-undertaken criminal conduct, and that he recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to others in the course of fleeing from the FBI to avoid arrest. Wills was also ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
This case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, and MPD. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Nelson and Justin Song and Paralegal Specialist Melissa Macechko.
Owner of Unlicensed D.C. Row House Found Guilty in the Deaths of Two People in Fatal Kennedy Street FireRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – James G. Walker, 67, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty today in Superior Court of the District of Columbia on two counts of second-degree murder, and 27 criminal building code violations, for the deaths of Fitsum Kebede and Yafet Solomen, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Brian L. Schwalb, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division Anthony Spotswood, Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Chief John A. Donnelly, Sr.
Walker was indicted and arraigned on January 16, 2020, on two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of the lesser included charges of involuntary manslaughter and numerous criminal building code violations by Superior Court Judge Ronna L. Beck.
According to the government’s evidence, the defendant, James Walker, owned commercial property located at 708 Kennedy Street, N.W. Walker did not have a certificate of occupancy for the building and the structure was in violation of several fire safety codes. Walker operated the building as an illegal “rooming house.” Some of the building’s rooms were too small to be considered habitable space; some had no windows, and the defendant failed to install or maintain functional smoke alarms throughout the building, including the basement. The most egregious violation, however, was the failure to provide an unobstructed means to escape the property, which included erecting multiple security gates that required keys from both sides, the worst offense being a double-keyed security gate installed within the property that blocked access from the kitchen to the front door. Importantly, the defendant had received specific warnings on March 21, 2019, from the Metropolitan Police Department that the building was in violation of several building codes specifically related to fire safety and hazardous conditions. He was instructed to correct the conditions and have the building inspected for residential use. He did not.
On the morning of August 18, 2019, a fire erupted in the basement of 708 Kennedy Street. Three tenants were present at the time of the fire. 40-year-old Fitsum Kebede and 10-year-old Yafet Solomen were in the basement and were unable to exit the premises. They subsequently died from thermal burns and smoke inhalation. The government’s evidence was that the defendant’s knowledge of the danger posed by the conditions of the property and his conscious disregard of the extreme risk that death or serious bodily injury could occur were the but-for cause of the deaths of the decedents.
This case was jointly tried by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the District of Columbus Office of the Attorney General.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martin, D.C. Attorney General Schwalb, ATF Special Agent in Charge Spotswood, MPD Chief Smith, and Fire and EMS Chief Donnelly, commended the work of the ATF Arson and Explosives Task Force that investigated the case, including MPD, ATF, and Fire and EMS. Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant United States Attorney Vinet Bryant, Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Cargill and Assistant Attorney General Keith Ingram who prosecuted the case.
Murder and Other Charges Filed in March 6, 2019 Stabbing of Natina KiahRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Lamont Stephenson, 50, of Washington, D.C., was indicted on first degree murder while armed and cruelty to animals from a stabbing and strangulation that took place in Southeast Washington in March 2019, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Stephenson allegedly committed these offenses while on the run for the October 2014 killing of his then-fiancée and her dog. He has since pleaded guilty to the charges in the 2014 case and has been sentenced to more than 30 years of incarceration.
According to the indictment, the defendant is charged with stabbing Natina Kiah and strangling her cat to death in the early morning hours of March 6, 2019, Stephenson was brought to D.C. and arraigned on the charges on February 14, 2025, during a hearing before Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman.
In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Merikas, who is investigating and prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
Indictment Adds Murder and Other Charges Against Maryland Man Accused of Shooting a DCHA OfficerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Victor Scott Terrill, 41, of Landover, Maryland, was charged in a 10-count superseding indictment, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court, with first-degree murder while armed and related counts, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
The new charges stem from the February 23, 2024, fatal shooting of a man identified as R.C., and the nonfatal shooting of another man, while Terrill was on pre-trial release in a D.C. Superior Court matter.
Terrill was initially arrested on February 29, 2024, for the shooting of a District Housing Authority Police Officer at a Southeast apartment building in Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood. He was subsequently charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer (felony) while armed and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, and related offenses for that conduct. A Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun, recovered in a trashcan following his arrest, was also linked to the February 23 murder and nonfatal shooting.
With respect to the fatal shooting, Terrill is charged with one count of first-degree murder while armed (premeditated), one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. With respect to the nonfatal shooting of the other man, Terrill is charged with one count of assault with intent to kill while armed, one count of assault with significant bodily injury while armed, and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Terrill is further charged with committing these offenses while on pretrial release in a Superior Court matter.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office's Violent Crimes Task Force and the MPD. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ariel Dean, Justin Song, Meredith Mayer-Dempsey and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Horan for the District of Columbia.
A criminal indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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16-Year-Old Charged as Adult with Armed Carjackings and Robberies over a Three Month PeriodRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Frederick Etheridge, 16, of Washington, D.C., was charged today as an adult under Title 16 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, in connection with a spree of armed offenses taking place between October 2024 and January 2025 in D.C. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to documents filed in court, Etheridge has been charged in relation to an armed carjacking in October 2024 and an armed robbery in January 2025. First, in the late evening on October 25, 2024, Etheridge and a second suspect approached the victim in a parking lot in the 2800 block of Erie Street Southeast. The victim had just parked their vehicle and, while sitting inside of the vehicle on the phone, was approached by Etheridge and the second suspect at gunpoint. Etheridge demanded the victim’s phone and directed the victim to give their car keys to the second suspect. Etheridge then demanded that the victim unlock their phone, and said something to the effect of, “Don’t make me kill you.” The victim complied and handed over their unlocked phone and vehicle keys. Etheridge and his co-conspirator then drove off in the victim’s vehicle, headed in the direction of Naylor Road Southeast. When police arrived, the victim was able to track their Apple Watch and locate their vehicle in the rear of the 2800 block of Buena Vista Terrace, Southeast.
Second, on January 3, 2025, in the early morning, the victim parked their vehicle and began to walk away. Etheridge and a second suspect walked up to the victim, and Etheridge brandished a large black firearm. Etheridge and the second suspect then grabbed the victim’s property and ran to the victim’s car in an attempt to carjack the vehicle. However, Etheridge and the second suspect were unable to enter the vehicle because they did not have the victim’s keys, and instead fled from the location with the victim’s bag, credit cards, and other property.
On February 19, 2025, members of the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) executed a court-authorized search warrant at Etheridge’s residence. While executing the search warrant, a member of MPD observed Etheridge throw a black rifle out of his bedroom window. Etheridge was soon thereafter arrested and charged for multiple offenses.
Etheridge was presented in court today and ordered detained. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 27, 2025.
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Goldstein is prosecuting the case.
These charges are merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two Teens Indicted on Charges of Assault with Intent to Kill and Other Charges After Opening Fire Near High SchoolRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Saki Frost, 18, and Azhari Graves, 18, both of Washington, D.C., were indicted today on charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and other charges stemming from a shooting that occurred on May 3, 2024, near Dunbar High School. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department. Both defendants are to be arraigned on February 20, 2025, before the Honorable J. Michael Ryan.
Frost and Graves were indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, and related firearms charges. Frost, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult under Title 16, and was also indicted on charges of assault with intent to murder while armed.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 9:53 am, on May 3, 2024, Graves and Frost opened fire on a sedan that was driving down Kirby Street, NW, near Dunbar High School. A witness to the shooting reported hearing machine gun fire. Surveillance video captures Frost and Graves running down an alleyway holding firearms prior to the shooting. Surveillance video also captures the shooting, in which an individual appearing to be Frost fires a gun toward the sedan. Surveillance footage also captures Graves after the shooting holding a firearm with the slide locked to the rear of the weapon, indicating that the weapon had been fired and the magazine emptied. Graves and Frost then fled the area in a vehicle. Later that day, MPD officers located the defendants’ vehicle and arrested Graves and Frost. Investigators recovered a total of 29 shell casings from the scene of the shooting and numerous fragments from the exterior of Dunbar High School, as well as classrooms inside the school. Investigators also observed at least six bullet strikes to the N Street side of Dunbar. During the shooting, one Dunbar student suffered a graze wound to the head from the gunfire.
This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Helfand and Christian Natiello of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
52-Month Prison Sentence for a D.C. Convicted Felon Who Traveled to the Jersey Shore to Rob an Overnight PharmacyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ashawntea Henderson, 32, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. to 52 months in federal prison for participating in an early morning robbery of a drug store at the Jersey Shore. During the May 2020 robbery, he and his co-conspirators jumped the counter, overpowered the night pharmacist, stole thousands of prescription narcotics, and then – as they attempted to flee to the District – crashed into a responding police cruiser.
The sentencing was announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Terence Reilly of the Newark Field Office.
Henderson pleaded guilty on October 30, 2024, to interference of commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery). In addition to the 52-month prison sentence, Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Henderson to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Henderson and his co-conspirators researched potential targets including Walgreens and CVS pharmacies which were open all night. On May 9, 2020, Henderson and others drove more than 200 miles from Washington, D.C. to a Walgreens Pharmacy on State Road 33, in Neptune, New Jersey.
At 3:09 a.m., Henderson and two others dressed in masks and gloves entered the Walgreens. All three jumped over the pharmacy counter and demanded codeine, Adderall, and Percocet. One of the co-conspirators grabbed the night pharmacist, demanded that he open the locked cabinets containing additional pills, and forced the pharmacist to assist them. After grabbing thousands of prescription medicines – including Oxycodone, morphine, amphetamine, and Nucynta – Henderson and the two co-conspirators fled in a black Nissan Altima operated by a fourth co-conspirator. At one point, the Nissan collided with a responding police officer’s patrol car but continued at high speed back to Washington D.C.
After returning to the District, as they celebrated at a hotel, one of the co-conspirators received a text from a known drug distributor asking the price for a drug of the same type stolen from Neptune, New Jersey. The co-conspirator and the drug distributor continued to exchange texts about the sale of drugs for the following weeks.
Henderson is currently serving a five-year prison sentence in Maryland in connection with his 2022 possession of a firearm.
The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force and the Neptune Township Police Department. The matter is being prosecuted by AUSAs Justin Song, Sarah Martin and Cameron Tepfer.
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Sexual Assault Aboard Metro Train Yields Prison TermRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Anthony Garner, 37, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 45 months in prison for sexual assault of a woman aboard a Metro train, traveling from Maryland to D.C., in April 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr.
Garner pleaded guilty on July 10, 2024, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of third-degree sexual abuse. In addition to the sentence, the Honorable Errol Arthur also ordered that Garner will be required to register for 10 years as a sex offender and complete three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately, 9:30 a.m., on April 16, 2023, law enforcement officers responded to the Gallery Place Metro station for a report of a sexual assault on a female passenger. Officers spoke with the victim, who stated she had boarded the green line train at Suitland station and sat down. At that time, the defendant also boarded the train and sat directly across from her. Garner then sat next to the victim, when she noticed that his penis was exposed. When the victim motioned to other passengers that the defendant was masturbating, he got up and moved away claiming he was just fixing his pants. As the train continued and approached L’Enfant Plaza Metro station, Garner again sat next to the victim and masturbated, at which time the victim tried to get the attention of another passenger on the train. When the victim and a female passenger attempted to walk past the defendant, he blocked their path and stated “You can get off, but she isn’t going anywhere. You’re not going anywhere until I bust a nut”. The defendant let the unknown female passenger go but held on to the victim, grabbed her butt, and refused to let her leave the train. The victim continued to try to get off the train, but the defendant forced her to stay on board while he continued to assault her.
At one point, when other passengers observed what was happening Garner lied and stated that the victim was his lady. As the train pulled into the Fort Totten metro station, again Garner refused to let the victim leave and, with his penis exposed, ultimately ejaculated on her. When the train pulled into the next station, both the victim and Garner exited the train. The victim immediately reported the assault to the station manager, who called the Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD). The defendant boarded a train on the other platform going in the opposite direction. MTPD officers were able to locate Garner on a train at Gallery Place Metro, where he was identified by the victim and placed under arrest, and he has been in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Transit Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim Advocate Tracey Hawkins and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Kelley and Sarah Folse, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Man Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison for Killing Girlfriend Inside ApartmentRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Koran Brown, 32, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today, to 21 years in prison for shooting Cynthia Barringer insider her apartment at 2312 Green Street, S.E., announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Brown pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder while armed in November 2024, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
According to the government’s evidence, Brown and Ms. Barringer argued around 3:45 pm on the day of the murder. During the argument, Brown shot Ms. Barringer one time in the head with a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol. He then started a fire in the bedroom where the shooting occurred and fled the building. Brown was captured on surveillance video leaving the building and arriving shortly thereafter at the home of a family member, where he left his bloody t-shirt and the murder weapon. After that evidence was recovered during a search warrant, DNA testing linked the items to both the defendant and the victim.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Lead Paralegal Specialist Meridith McGarrity and Victim/Witness Advocate Latrice Washington Williams. Finally, they commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Rickard and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana Joseph and Andrea Antonelli, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Crime Spree at CVS Stores in Northwest Results in Prison TermRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Craig Wilson, 64, of Washington DC, was sentenced today to 20 months in prison, for aggregated first-degree theft, for a string of retail thefts over the course of 11 days, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Wilson pleaded guilty on November 5, 2024, in D.C. Superior Court to one count of first-degree theft and one count of misdemeanor bail reform act violation. The Honorable Judge Carmen McLean ordered Wilson to serve 20 months in prison on the first-degree theft charge and 90 days incarceration on the bail reform act charge. Both counts were ordered to run consecutive to one another and Mr. Wilson’s prison sentence is to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, between June 19, 2024 and September 9, 2024, Wilson committed a string of thefts, mostly at the same CVS store located in the 1000 block of 16th Street, N.W. During that period, Wilson committed 13 retail thefts over the course of 11 days. In each instance, Wilson was seen on surveillance camera entering the stores, taking merchandise from the shelves, and leaving the stores without paying for the merchandise. Wilson stole over $3,000 in merchandise during his crime spree.
Wilson was arrested on September 26, 2024, and he has been in custody since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Cook, who prosecuted the case, and paralegal Sabrina Hudgens.
Former Finance Director Admits to Embezzling from Non-ProfitRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jarrett Lewis, 44, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud in connection with an embezzlement scheme that bilked a District non-profit advocacy organization of more than $320,000, announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan, of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division.
U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 16, 2025.
Lewis was employed by the victim agency between June 2021 and October 2022. According to the statement of facts, while serving as Director of Finance for the non-profit, Lewis perpetrated a scheme to defraud his employer. Lewis was one of three employees at Victim 1 with access to the non-profit’s bank account. It was part of Lewis’s duties to pay bills on behalf of the organization. Lewis was also provided with a VISA card for an account belonging to Victim 1, and was authorized to use the VISA card to incur expenses on behalf of Victim 1 for goods and services related to its operations.
On 32 occasions, Lewis took advantage of his position by accessing Victim 1’s account and causing funds to be transferred to his personal account and for his own personal benefit. The total loss suffered by Victim 1 resulting from these transfers is $309,950.88. Lewis also used the non-profit’s VISA to book and pay for personal travel for himself, his family, and friends, totaling $9, 112. 96. In total, the parties stipulate that Lewis’s scheme to defraud amounts to a total of $321,057.98.
Lewis was arrested on September 5, 2024. He faces a custodial sentence in addition to fines and restitution.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Truscott with the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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Former Chinatown Walgreens Manager Pleads Guilty in a Series of Inside-Job RobberiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – London Teeter, 21, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to her role in a series of seven inside-job robberies of the Chinatown drug store where she was employed as a store manager.
The plea was announced United States Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Teeter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery). The Honorable Jia M. Cobb scheduled sentencing for June 12, 2025. When she is sentenced, Teeter is eligible for up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
According to court documents, Teeter, and three co-conspirators devised a scheme to carry out armed robberies of the Walgreens store in Chinatown nearly once a month, beginning in July 2023, when either she or her co-conspirator were working. As a store manager, Teeter knew the timing of cash transfers within the business. In each robbery, a masked gunman entered the store, forced an employee into the manager’s office or accessed the manager’s office using a code provided by Teeter or her co-conspirator. The gunman then robbed the employees and fled through a rear exit. Teeter and her co-conspirator took turns pretending to be the “victim” manager on duty, knowing that the robberies would be captured on internal surveillance.
The robberies occurred on July 18, 2023, August 2, 2023, September 2, 2023, November 10, 2023, December 4, 2023, January 9, 2024, and February 11, 2024. Teeter was present in the manager’s office and pretended to be the victim of a robbery during the July 18, 2023, and January 9, 2024, robberies.
In response to the robberies, the Chinatown Walgreens hired armed Special Police Officers to protect the business. Teeter was aware that armed Special Police Officers would be present during the robberies and that a co-conspirator robbed the officers of their firearms during the robberies that occurred on December 4, 2023, and February 11, 2024.
In the plea agreement, Teeter admitted that the co-conspirators stole and split at least $28,983. She also acknowledged that she reviewed surveillance footage from the August 2, 2023, robbery during which a co-conspirator briefly placed his firearm on a chair Teeter acknowledged that she sent a co-conspirator a text message stating: “the vid looks so bad,” “idk why he put the gun down,” and “he can’t do it next time [not gonna lie].”
Law enforcement arrested Teeter on February 22, 2024. During the search of her home that preceded her arrest, law enforcement recovered a loaded Glock 45 pistol loaded with 16 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Trial dates are pending for co-conspirators Michael Robinson, 34, Kamanye Williams, 25, and Gianni Robinson, 27.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin F. Song, Sarah Martin, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Svetoslavov of the Federal Major Crimes Section.
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Darknet Drug Trafficking Couple from Las Vegas Sentenced in D.C. to Federal Prison TermsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—Rushan Lavar Reed, 47, and Celeste Nicole Reed, 28, both of Las Vegas, Nevada, were sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 51 months and 37 months in federal prison, respectively, for participating in a long-term sophisticated drug trafficking conspiracy that illegally distributed “pharmacy grade- not homemade pressed pills” nationwide across seven online darknet markets.
The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, Inspector in Charge Glen Henderson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Phoenix Division, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Schwartz of the Las Vegas Field Office, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.
Rushan Reed, aka “Double R,” and Celeste Reed, aka “Calileone,” each pleaded guilty October 22, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, hydrocodone, and amphetamine. In addition to the prison terms, U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols ordered the couple to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, for six years the married couple operated an online storefront called “MrsFeelGood” to illegally distribute a variety of narcotics across the United States, including the District of Columbia. They used darknet markets that included Monopoly, Versus, ASAP, AlphaBay, Wall Street, Archetyp, Bohemia, Empire, Dream, and White House. In addition to oxycodone, hydrocodone, and amphetamines, they also sold and distributed MDMA, codeine, Vyvanse, Dilaudid, and marijuana. Operating on the darkweb made it possible for the Reeds to hide their identities, hide the location of their computers, and hide their illegal sales. In addition, they used cryptocurrency to launder their money so that the illegal proceeds of their drug trafficking would be difficult to trace.
On October 11, 2023, law enforcement executed arrest warrants at the couple’s Las Vegas home and arrested them both. Officers recovered, among other things: multiple pills in prescription bottles, packaging materials; gloves; black Ziploc bags; and empty prescription pill bottles with the names of the defendants and other uncharged coconspirators. Officers also recovered an assortment of electronic devices and an AR-15 firearm. The laptop was set up to use an operating system designed to access the darknet and protect against surveillance.
This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, the FBI Las Vegas Field Office, the USPIS Washington Division, and USPIS Phoenix Division.
The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter V. Roman with valuable assistance provided by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Isabelle Sun, former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Crosby, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Wang.
2013 Stranger Armed Rape Solved by Maryland DNA Upon Arrest Law Results in Guilty VerdictRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –Samuel Peaks, 36, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of one count of first degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances for a February 12, 2013 assault of a stranger in the 4400 block of Gault Place, NE, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Sentencing is scheduled in front of Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz for May 2, 2025. Peaks faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
According to the government’s evidence that was presented at trial, at approximately 6:00 a.m., on February 12, 2013, Peaks encountered the victim at the Minnesota Ave. Metro and tried to speak with her. The victim rejected his advances and walked away. The defendant followed her, brandished a gun, forced her to put a condom on his penis, and perform a sexual act on him. Peaks threw the condom on the ground afterward. The victim immediately reported to police, who responded and recovered the condom.
The condom was timely tested for DNA in 2013 and resulted in a mixture of DNA from the victim and an unknown male. The case was pending without an identification of a suspect until the defendant was arrested for an attempted homicide in Maryland in 2020, where his DNA was collected pursuant to Maryland’s DNA upon arrest law and entered into CODIS.
The defendant’s DNA was compared to the male profile from the seized condom developed in the 2013 DNA testing and was determined to be a match.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The case was investigated by Assistant United States Attorney Amy Zubrensky and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Folse and Raha Mokhtari, of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section.
Prison Term of 18 Years Handed to Man Who Sexually Abused 13-Year-OldRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Damion Brown, 33, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 18 years in prison and lifetime supervision, for sexually abusing the 13-year-old daughter of his long-time girlfriend in February of 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The defendant was convicted on May 7, 2024, by a Superior Court jury of ten felony charges, including first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree child sexual abuse following a multi-day jury trial. The Honorable Judge Anthony Epstein also ordered Brown to stay away and have no contact with the victim or her mother.
According to the government’s evidence, on February 24, 2023, the 13-year-old victim was home alone with the defendant, who was the victim’s mother’s live-in boyfriend. While the victim was changing clothes, the defendant came into her room and began hugging and kissing her and pushed her onto her bed. The defendant performed a number of sexual acts on the child, then left the room laughing. The victim immediately left the apartment and reported to her aunt, who called the police. The defendant was still in the apartment when police arrived.
Subsequent DNA testing determined that the defendant could not be excluded from the positive results of DNA found on the victim after the abuse.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Victim Advocate Veronica Vaughn; former Forensic Child Interviewer Tracy Owusu; Paralegals ReShawn Johnson and Garcia Clarke; and Katina Washington-Adams, who assisted with witness travel, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Folse and Robert Platt, who prosecuted the case.
Juvenile Charged with August 2024 Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Aniq-Kai Covington, 16, of Washington, D.C., was charged as an adult (under Title 16) on February 11, 2025, in Superior Court with armed carjacking in connection with an August 13, 2024 incident in Southeast D.C. The charge was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to documents filed in court, on August 13, 2024, at approximately 9:15 p.m., police officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of 31st Street S.E., where they located the victim of an armed carjacking. The victim told the officers that at least two suspects approached the victim, who was sitting in their vehicle waiting for a family member. One suspect approached the victim’s driver’s side door and pointed a firearm at the victim, ordering the victim to get out of the vehicle. Another suspect attempted to open the victim’s passenger door. The victim complied and got out of the car. The first suspect then demanded money and took the victim’s wallet and cell phone, before the suspects fled northbound on 31st Street, SE in the victim’s car. The victim borrowed a phone from a family member and called 911.
The victim’s vehicle was located in the 2500 block of High Street S.E., stationary and unoccupied, just before 9:30 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after police were dispatched to the scene of the carjacking. The victim’s vehicle was forensically processed, and a latent fingerprint recovered from the interior passenger’s side door handle was later determined to belong to Covington.
Covington was presented in court yesterday and ordered detained. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 14, 2025.
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Winer is prosecuting the case.
These charges are merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Violent Armed Robber Who Stalked, Kidnapped, and Robbed Victims in Virginia and Maryland Is Sentenced to 228 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tyree Eugene McCombs, 29, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 228 months in federal prison for his role in the September 2022 stalking, armed robbery, and kidnapping of a pair of victims in Alexandria, Virginia, and for the November 2022 stalking, kidnapping, robbery, and shooting of a woman in Maryland and Washington, D.C.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.
McCombs pleaded guilty on August 14, 2024, before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, to one count of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (a “Hobbs Act” robbery) for the September 2022 offense, and to one count of kidnapping for the November 2022 offense. In addition to the 228-month prison-term, Judge Berman Jackson ordered McCombs to serve five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in September and November 2022, McCombs and his co-conspirators twice executed plans to surveil, stalk, forcibly detain, bind, assault, and rob women at gunpoint. McCombs was a leader in both schemes, personally stalking the victims, holding them at gunpoint, physically assaulting them, and demanding that they pay their own ransoms. In each case, the kidnapping was abruptly cut short either by the sound of an alarm (September) or the victim’s daring escape (November).
During the first incident, on the evening on September 3, 2022, the two victims entered their car – a black Mercedes S63 AMG Sedan – and drove from Alexandria, Virginia to a family gathering in Maryland. Unbeknownst to the victims, they were being electronically surveilled. A GPS tracking device purchased by McCombs had been placed inside the Mercedes. That night, McCombs and three co-conspirators laid in wait for nearly four hours for the victims to return home to their apartment building in Alexandria. As the couple returned to their building, McCombs and his co-conspirators, wearing masks and blue surgical gloves and carrying zip ties, ambushed them with handguns and robbed them of their most valuable belongings.
McCombs and his crew stole two Audemars Piguet watches worth about $120,000 from the couple and another $63,500 worth of jewelry, including a Cuban link chain and a custom pendant with the letters “GQ” overlaid on a speedometer. McCombs and his co-conspirators took the keys to the victim’s Mercedes then forced the victims at gunpoint from the parking garage to the victims’ apartment.
Once inside of the apartment, McCombs and his co-conspirators pistol-whipped the victims and ordered them to tell them where their money was hidden. The co-conspirators ransacked the residence but were unable to find any cash. During the crime, a security alarm activated, and the co-conspirators tore the alarm from the wall and fled the apartment. McCombs and his co-conspirators then fled the apartment complex in a stolen white Kia as well as the victim’s Mercedes, which still had the GPS tracking device inside. The co-conspirators drove the Mercedes into Washington, D.C. then abandoned the vehicle in Maryland, where it was found by law enforcement. About a month later, on October 10, 2022, McCombs sold the custom pendant, worth tens of thousands of dollars, to a pawn shop in Maryland for $200.
On the night of November 7, 2022, McCombs led another kidnapping and robbery, this time targeting and abducting a 25-year-old woman in Maryland. At the time of this crime, McCombs was on supervised release for a 2019 attempted armed robbery conviction and, two weeks earlier, had been ordered to wear a GPS monitor. McCombs’s GPS data showed that he stalked the woman for hours through the evening of November 7, following her from work to a family member’s home to a bank. Eventually, the victim traveled by car to an apartment building in Elkridge, Maryland. McCombs and a co-conspirator, traveling in a carjacked Toyota Camry, followed her to the Elkridge apartment.
As the victim exited her vehicle and began to enter the building, McCombs and his co-conspirator grabbed her and forced her into the back seat of the Camry at gunpoint. The kidnappers pistol-whipped the victim, robbed her, and bound her hands behind her back using a black plastic zip tie. McCombs and his co-conspirator then held the woman captive in the vehicle for nearly three hours, driving to various locations in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Surveillance video footage from a gas station in Forestville, Maryland, captured McCombs and his co-conspirator exiting the Camry with the victim still held inside. As McCombs walked into the gas station to purchase gas, the co-conspirator entered the back seat of the vehicle and sexually assaulted the victim. After leaving the gas station, the kidnappers, who had already taken a significant amount of cash and property from the victim, repeatedly demanded to know “who she could call to save her life, that could get more money,” while threatening to kill her.
The victim, believing she was going to be killed, used her foot to open a rear door of the vehicle, pushed open the door, and, after struggling with McCombs, jumped out of the moving vehicle. As she sprinted down the street, McCombs and the co-conspirator fired at least five gunshots at her, striking her twice in the foot. Within minutes of the shooting, law enforcement identified McCombs based on his GPS data. They located and arrested McCombs, who was still wearing the GPS monitor, several hours later.
This case was investigated by FBI Washington Field Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force. The Fairfax County Police Department, Howard County Police Department, and Metropolitan Police Department assisted with the investigation. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Mayer-Dempsey and Charles R. Jones.
McCombs (center) and his co-conspirators carry the Alexandria victims’ shoes and handbag in the hallway of the apartment building.
Crime scene photograph taken inside the Alexandria apartment where McCombs’s first victims resided.
Still images of McCombs and his co-conspirator abducting a woman at gunpoint in Maryland on November 7, 2022.
McCombs (right) and a co-conspirator talk at the gas station in Forestville, MD, as the victim remains captive in the back seat of a carjacked Toyota Camry.
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Three-time Convicted Felon Sentenced to 42 Months for Unlawful Possession of a Loaded Firearm on a District PlaygroundRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ezra Griffith, 34, a twice convicted felon from Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 42 months in federal prison in connection with his illegal possession on a District playground of a Glock loaded with 30 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Griffith was found guilty by a jury on September 19, 2024, of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In addition to the 42-month prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered Griffith to serve 36 years of supervised release.
According to the evidence presented to the jury, on November 15, 2023, about 8:40 p.m., members of the MPD’s Fifth District Crime Suppression Team entered the parking lot of the Rosedale Recreation Center in Northeast Washington, D.C. Officers observed a small group of people congregating inside the fenced-in playground next to the recreation center building. The park was closed. In fact, there was a sign next to the playground’s only entrance noting that it was open from dawn to dusk. The officers went to make contact with the group.
As officers approached the fenced-in playground, Griffith immediately sat down on a concrete partition and moved his hands near the front of his waistband, appearing to adjust an object in his lap. Subsequently, Griffith got up and sprinted along the inside fence line of the playground. Officers briefly lost sight of Griffith before stopping him moments later inside the playground area.
Officers canvassed Griffith’s flight path and recovered a Glock 27 .40 caliber semiautomatic firearm loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition. Griffith has two prior felony convictions in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, for carrying a pistol without a license and for attempted robbery.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole.
Police recovered a black Glock 27 .40 caliber semi-automatic loaded with 29 rounds of ammunition in a thirty-round magazine and one round in the chamber.
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Arizona Woman Pleads Guilty in Fraud Scheme That Illegally Generated $17 Million in Revenue for North KoreaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Christina Marie Chapman, 48, of Litchfield Park, Arizona, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. in connection with a scheme that assisted overseas IT workers—posing as U.S. citizens and residents—in working at more than 300 U.S. companies in remote IT positions. The scheme generated more than $17 million in illicit revenue for herself and for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea).
The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; FBI Special Agent in Charge Jose A. Perez of the Phoenix Field Office, and IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Carissa Messick for IRS Criminal Investigation's Phoenix Field Office.
Chapman pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss scheduled sentencing for June 16, 2025. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the parties will jointly recommend that the Court impose a sentence of 94 to 111 months in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents, Chapman, an American citizen, conspired with overseas IT workers from October 2020 to October 2023 to steal the identities of U.S. nationals and used those identities to apply for remote IT jobs and, in furtherance of the scheme, transmitted false documents to the Department of Homeland Security. Chapman and her coconspirators obtained jobs at hundreds of U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 corporations, often through temporary staffing companies or other contracting organizations.
Chapman received and hosted computers from the U.S. companies, creating a “laptop farm” at her home, so that the companies would believe the workers were in the United States. As a result of Chapman’s assistance, the overseas IT workers gained access to the internal systems of the U.S. companies.
Chapman’s overseas IT workers received more than $17.1 million for their work. Much of the income was falsely reported to the IRS and Social Security Administration in the names of actual U.S. individuals whose identities had been stolen.
As a result of the conduct of Chapman and her conspirators, more than 300 U.S. companies were impacted, more than 70 identities of U.S. person were compromised, on more than 100 occasions false information was conveyed to DHS, and more than 70 U.S. individuals had false tax liabilities created in their name.
This case was investigated by the FBI Counterintelligence Division, the FBI Phoenix Field Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, and IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office with assistance from the FBI Chicago Field Office.
It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Prosecutors Joshua Rothstein, Karen Seifert, Thomas Gillice, and Trial Attorney Ashley Pungello of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Trial Attorney Gregory J. Nicosia Jr. of the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section provided valuable assistance.
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Jury Finds Cousins Guilty of 2021 Mayfair Mansions MurderRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Superior Court jury today found Deangelo Glover, 33, and Ronnie Wallace, 48, both of Washington, D.C., guilty of murder and other charges related to the January 19, 2021, murder of Tyrone Wright, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Wallace was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for Wright’s murder, plus one count of assault with intent to kill while armed for shooting a second victim, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of carrying a pistol without a license.
Glover was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of carrying a pistol without a license. Superior Court Judge Jason Park scheduled sentencing for May 2, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, on Tuesday January 19, 2021, in a parking lot in front of 3804 Hayes Street NE within the Mayfair Mansions Apartment complex, Ronnie Wallace shot the decedent, Tyrone Wright on belief that Mr. Wright was one of the persons responsible for his brother Marcus Wallace’s murder. In the process, a bystander was shot a single time in the leg. Within moments of Wallace’s initial shots, his cousin and co-defendant Deangelo Glover, ran out of an adjacent building and shot Mr. Wright repeatedly, ending his life.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Coronado and Matthew Covert.
Guilty Plea in Hacking of the SEC’s X Account That Caused Bitcoin Value SpikeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Eric Council, 25, of Athens, Alabama, entered a guilty plea today to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft in United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Council was arrested on October 17, 2024, in connection with his role in a conspiracy to hack into the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and publish fraudulent posts in the name of the then-SEC Chairman.
The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office, Criminal and Cyber Division.
Council’s plea was entered before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the District of Columbia. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. His sentencing is scheduled for May 16, 2025.
According to court documents, from at least January 2024, Council conspired with others to carry out Subscriber Identity Model (SIM) attacks, commonly referred to as “SIM swaps,” in exchange for money.
A SIM card is a chip that stores information identifying and authenticating a cell phone subscriber and connects a physical cell phone to a mobile carrier’s cellular and data network. A SIM swap attack is a form of sophisticated fraud where criminal actors fraudulently induce a mobile carrier to reassign a mobile phone number from a victim’s SIM card to a SIM card and telephone controlled by a criminal actor attempting to access valuable information associated with the victim’s telephone. Members of SIM swapping groups conduct SIM swaps for the purpose of defeating multifactor authentication and/or two-step verification security features for internet connected accounts, such as social media and virtual currency accounts.
After convincing a mobile carrier to reassign a phone number to a new SIM card in the criminal actor’s control, members of the conspiracy generate password reset security authentication codes for online accounts and those codes are in turn sent to the telephone in the control of the criminal actor. Members of SIM swap groups share the security reset codes with one another to unlawfully access a victim’s internet connected accounts and complete the fraud.
On or about January 9, 2024, Council, and others, executed a SIM swap of the mobile phone account associated with the @SECgov X account, the official account of the SEC. The purpose of this SIM swap was to gain unauthorized access to this government account in order to make fraudulent posts.
Before January 9, a member of the conspiracy had identified the authorized user for the phone number linked to the official @SECgov X account. Council received instruction from a co-conspirator to perform the SIM swap on this phone line, along with information to make the needed fake ID, that is, an image of an ID card template with the authorized user’s name on it but Council’s face, and information purporting to be the user’s date of birth and social security number.
Council used his portable ID card printer to create a physical ID which he used to impersonate the victim at an AT&T store in Huntsville, Alabama. Council provided false information to the AT&T store employee to explain why he needed a replacement SIM card. Council obtained the SIM card linked to the victim’s phone line and walked to a nearby Apple store where he purchased a new iPhone to use in the crime. He inserted the SIM card to activate the phone, received the @SECGov X password reset codes on this new phone linked to the victim’s SIM card and used his personal cell phone to take a photo of the @SECgov X account reset code to share with his co-conspirators. After passing along the password reset codes, Council drove to Birmingham, Alabama and immediately returned the iPhone for cash.
A member of the conspiracy used the reset code to gain access to the @SECGov X account and issue a fraudulent post in the name of the then-SEC Chairman, falsely announcing SEC approval of Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The price of BTC increased by more than $1,000 following the post. Shortly after this unauthorized post, the SEC regained control over their X account and confirmed that the announcement was unauthorized and the result of a security breach, which caused the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000.
Council also admitted to attempting to perform additional SIM swaps in June 2024 in Alabama. In June 2024, the FBI executed a search warrant at an Athens, Alabama, apartment where he resided. Agents recovered a fake identification card and a portable ID card printer. They also recovered a laptop computer.
Pursuant to the search warrant, agents searched the laptop and discovered templates for additional fake identification cards stored on the laptop along with internet searches for “SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI,” “What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them,” “what are some signs that the FBI is after you,” “Verizon store list,” “federal identity theft statute,” and “how long does it take to delete telegram account.”
Council admitted to receiving approximately $50,000 from members of the conspiracy to perform SIM swap during the previous six months.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, the SEC-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Fraud Section’s Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Significant assistance was provided by the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rosenberg, CCIPS Trial Attorney Ashley Pungello, and Fraud Section Trial Attorney Lauren Archer. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant United States Attorney John Hundscheid from the Northern District of Alabama.
For more information on SIM swapping, go to: https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240411
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Guilty Plea from Defendant Who Sexually Assaulted Senior Citizen in Her YardRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Darnell Peoples, 22, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on Monday, February 10, 2025, to 20 years in prison for the armed oral sexual assault of a senior citizen at her home in Southeast Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). On November 15, 2024, Peoples pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sexual abuse in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Peoples has been in custody since his arrest on June 11, 2024. His guilty plea called for an agreed-upon 20-year prison sentence. The Honorable Anthony C. Epstein accepted the plea today and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Upon release, Peoples will be required to register as a sex offender, and be on supervised release, for the remainder of his life.
According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, on June 11, 2024, the victim was working in her yard. Peoples approached the victim from behind, displayed a knife, and told the victim to get on her knees. When the victim informed Peoples that she could not get on her knees, Peoples grabbed her and threw her to the ground. Peoples then pulled down his pants and exposed his penis. He pulled the victim’s head toward his penis and forcefully inserted his penis into the victim’s mouth multiple times.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Cybercrime Lab. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Sourbeer, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Armed Carjacker Detained Pending Trial for March 2024 CarjackingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Miquel Beasley, 22, of Bryans Road, MD, was charged on February 5, 2025, and ordered detained on February 7, 2025, for an armed carjacking stemming from an offense in Southeast D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to court records, at approximately 3:15 p.m. on March 22, 2024, the victim met up with Beasley in the 3900 block of First Street SE to purchase marijuana. Beasley entered the victim’s car, asked if the victim wanted to purchase marijuana, and the victim handed Beasley approximately $250. Beasley then pulled out a firearm, pointed it at the victim, and demanded that the victim get out of the car or else he would shoot the victim. The victim got out of his car, and Beasley got into the driver’s seat of the victim’s car and drove away.
An arrest warrant was issued on June 20, 2024, and Beasley was arrested on that warrant on January 30, 2025.
This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Alabama Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Securities and Exchange Commission X Account HackRead the Press Release
An Alabama man pleaded guilty today in connection with the January 2024 unauthorized takeover of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which hackers posted a fraudulent message in the name of the then-SEC Chairman, temporarily causing the value of Bitcoin (BTC) to increase by more than $1,000.
According to court documents, Eric Council Jr., 25, of Athens, conspired with others who took unauthorized control of the SEC’s X account and falsely announced that the SEC approved BTC Exchange Traded Funds, a decision highly anticipated by the market. Immediately following the false announcement, the price of BTC increased by more than $1,000 per bitcoin. Shortly after this unauthorized post, the SEC regained control over its X account and confirmed that the announcement was false and the result of a security breach. Following the correction, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per bitcoin.
The conspirators gained control of the SEC’s X account through an unauthorized Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swap carried out by Council. A SIM swap refers to the process of fraudulently inducing a cell phone carrier to reassign a cell phone number from the legitimate subscriber or user’s SIM card to a SIM card controlled by a criminal actor. As part of the scheme, Council used an identification card printer to create a fraudulent identification card with a victim’s personally identifiable information obtained from his co-conspirators. Council used the fraudulent identification card to impersonate the victim and gain access to the victim’s cellular phone number for the purpose of accessing the SEC’s account. Council’s co-conspirators then accessed the account and posted in the name of the SEC Chairman. Council received payment in bitcoin from his co-conspirators for his role.
Council pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 16 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia; Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the FBI Washington Field Office, Criminal and Cyber Division; and SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey made the announcement.
The FBI Washington Field Office and SEC Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Ashley Pungello of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Trial Attorney Lauren Archer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rosenberg for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. Substantial assistance was provided by Cyber Fellow Paul M. Zebb III.
For more information on SIM swapping, visit www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240411.
Man Who Stabbed His Girlfriend 21 Times Gets 15 Year Prison TermRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Devan Green, 30, of Washington DC, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison, for stabbing his girlfriend in their apartment on September 19, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The defendant was convicted on November 14, 2024, by a Superior Court jury of one count of assault with intent to kill while armed, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of aggravated assault while armed, and one count of assault with significant bodily injury while armed following a 13-day jury trial. The Honorable Judge Rainey Brandt also ordered Green to stay away and have no contact with the victim or her son.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Green held his girlfriend and her child inside of their apartment against their will for over forty minutes while her family called 911 numerous times. Green put her son in a back bedroom and stabbed his girlfriend once in the chest with a knife. When she went to check on her son, he stabbed her 20 more times. He then fled the apartment and was apprehended a month later.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Molly K. Smith and Katharine E. Yaske of the Domestic Violence Section, who prosecuted the case.
Facebook Marketplace Armed Robberies Case Ends in Guilty PleaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Elijah Porter, 20, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges from two armed robberies, committed in 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Porter pleaded guilty to armed robbery for an incident on December 2, 2023; he pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with intent to commit robbery for an incident on November 8, 2023. Superior Court Judge Deborah Israel scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 30, 2025.
According to the government’s evidence, on December 2, 2023, Porter, using a false Facebook account, responded to a Facebook Marketplace advertisement for the sale of an Apple MacBook. The defendant arranged for the victim to meet him in the 1300 block of Orren Street NE. When the victim arrived, Porter asked to inspect the MacBook, so the victim handed the MacBook to the defendant. The defendant then pulled out what appeared to be a black handgun and stole the MacBook from the victim. A search, conducted two days later at Porter’s residence, resulted in the recovery of the victim’s MacBook.
On November 8, 2023, Porter created an advertisement for the sale of Apple iPhones using a false Facebook account and the victim responded to the advertisement, eventually agreeing to meet with the defendant to discuss the purchase of the iPhones posted for sale. Porter arranged for the victim to meet him in the 1300 block of Orren Street NE. When the victim arrived, Porter and an accomplice got into the victim’s vehicle and struck the victim in the face with what appeared to be a handgun. Porter and the accomplice then stole personal property belonging to the victim.
Porter was apprehended on December 4, 2023, and has been in custody ever since.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Travis Wolf.
Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to 165 Months for Bringing Thousands of Counterfeit Oxycodone Pills into the DistrictRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Craig Eastman, 21, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 165 months in federal prison for participating in a massive fentanyl trafficking conspiracy that distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills from Southern California to destinations throughout the United States, including the District. Eastman was one of more than two dozen co-defendants arrested over the course of 2023 in D.C., Virginia, Maryland, San Diego, and Los Angeles and charged in the conspiracy.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Washington Division, Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Eastman pleaded guilty on July 25, 2024, to conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. In addition to the 165-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Eastman to serve five years of supervised release.
The impetus for this investigation was the overdose death of Diamond Lynch, a young mother in Southeast D.C. In addition to investigating and prosecuting the death-resulting case,[1] law enforcement followed the evidence and uncovered a vast network of traffickers who transported fentanyl from Mexico to Los Angeles to the District of Columbia. Since then, investigators have seized more than 450,000 fentanyl pills, 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder, and 30 firearms.
According to court documents, Eastman entered into the conspiracy after he was introduced to a Los Angeles-based drug trafficker, who was a distributor of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills. Eastman traveled to Southern California to purchase the fake oxycodone from the L.A. supplier and returned to the District with the drugs. Eastman and his co-conspirators employed two primary methods to transport the pills to the District: they smuggled them in luggage or carry-on items on airline flights, or they shipped the pills utilizing the U.S. Postal Service and commercial mail carriers
After transporting the fentanyl-laced pills back to the District of Columbia, Eastman redistributed them for profit, primarily in collaboration with a co-defendant. Two redistributors of the pills were his siblings, Larry and Justice Eastman, who later were convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Ms. Lynch was a customer of Larry and Justice Eastman.
Craig Eastman not only knew of Ms. Lynch’s overdose death, but proceeded to attempt to sell the batch of pills that included Ms. Lynch’s fatal dose at a discount rather than simply destroy them and incur the financial loss. Specifically, the month after Ms. Lynch’s overdose death, Craig Eastman marketed the same bulk supply of pills that included Ms. Lynch’s fatal dose. Craig Eastman informed a prospective customer that he “caught a bad batch of some 30s,” and asked the customer to “see if [he] got somebody to sell em to[,] I got endless.”
Craig Eastman also had been found in residences containing firearms on multiple occasions. On September 1, 2021, law enforcement searched Craig Eastman’s residence in the 2300 block of Raynolds Place SE. Agents found him inside his bedroom, along with 204 fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills, multiple firearms and accompanying magazines and ammunition, as well as several thousand dollars in cash. On December 4, 2021, officers searched Eastman’s residence and recovered four firearms, about $1,700 in cash, and distribution quantities of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills. In his bedroom specifically, officers found a Glock 17 equipped with a high-capacity magazine and a machine gun conversion device, along with fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills. When Craig Eastman was arrested along with co-defendant Charles Taylor on March 22, 2023, in a stash house in the District, officers recovered seven firearms (including one machine gun), assorted ammunition, more than a dozen pounds of marijuana, and a pill bottle containing fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills.
DEFENDANT
AGE
LOCATION
CHARGES/SENTENCE
Hector David Valdez,
aka “Curl”
27
Santa Fe Springs, CaliforniaConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
Conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
Craig Eastman
21
Washington, D.C.Sentenced on February 6, 2025, to 165 months for conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl.Charles Jeffrey Taylor21
Washington, D.C.Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Raymond Nava, Jr.20
Bell Gardens,
California
Sentenced September 17, 2024, to 14 years for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Ulises Aldaz28
Bell Gardens,
California
Sentenced June 28, 2024, to 95 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Max Alexander Carias Torres27
Bell Gardens,
California
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
Conspiracy to commit international money laundering
Teron Deandre McNeil, aka “Wild Boy”34
Washington, D.C.Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Marvin Anthony Bussie,
aka “Money Marr”
22
Washington, D.C.Sentenced June 28, 2024, to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Marcus Orlando Brown29
Washington, D.C.Sentenced October 3, 2024, to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.Columbian Thomas, aka "Cruddy Murda”27
Washington, D.C.Sentenced October 22, 2024, to 160 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Wayne Rodell Carr-Maiden30
Washington, D.C.Sentenced April 29, 2024, to 45 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.Andre Malik Edmond,
aka “Draco”
23
Temple Hills, MarylandSentenced July 22, 2024, to 130 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Treyveon James Johnson,
aka “Treyski”
20
Alexandria, VirginiaSentenced September 5, 2024, to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.Karon Olufemi Blalock,
aka “Fat Bags”
30
Alexandria, VirginiaConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Ronte Ricardo Greene,
aka “Cardiddy”
29
Washington, D.C.Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Melvin Edward Allen, Jr., aka “21”39
Washington, D.C.Pleaded guilty on December 18, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.Darius Quincy Hodges,
aka “Brick”
34
Glen Allen, VirginiaConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Lamin Sesay,
aka “Rock Star”
28
Alexandria, VirginiaConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Paul Alejandro Felix26
Glendale,
California
Sentenced November 12, 2024, to 164 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Omar Arana,
aka “Frogs”
27
Cudahy,
California
Pleaded guilty January 3, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Edgar Balderas, Jr., aka “Nano”27
San Diego,
California
Pleaded guilty December 19, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Raul Pacheco Ramirez30
Long Beach,
California
Sentenced November 26, 2024, to 95 months for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Giovani Alejandro Briones30
Victorville, CaliforniaPleaded guilty October 24, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.Alfredo Rodriguez Gonzalez26
Rosarito, MexicoConspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
Conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
These prosecutions followed a joint investigation by the DEA Washington Division and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The investigation had additional support from the DEA’s Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside Field Divisions, the FBI Washington Field Office, and the Charles County, Maryland, Sheriff’s Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Central and Southern Districts of California, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the District of Maryland.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey, Solomon S. Eppel, and Iris McCranie of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses (VRTO) Section.
[1] https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/brother-and-sister-sentenced-drug-conspiracy-involving-fentanyl-sales
Canadian Businessman Sentenced for Obstruction of Justice for Hiding and Laundering Millions After His 2020 Money Laundering ConvictionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Firoz Patel, 50, of Montreal, Canada, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison today in connection with his efforts to conceal and launder 450 Bitcoin, currently valued at over $43 million, that he hid from the U.S. District Court handling his 2020 conviction and sentencing for conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and to commit money laundering.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Kai Wah Chan of Homeland Security Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office.
Patel plead guilty on September 17, 2024, to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ordered three years of supervised release, a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $24,020,699.83, and forfeiture of 450 Bitcoin plus interest currently restrained at a virtual currency exchange in the United Kingdom.
In 2020, Patel was convicted and sentenced to 36 months for operating Payza, an illegal financial payments platform that processed cryptocurrency payments.
According to court documents, in 2004 Patel began operating his payment processing company AlertPay, which evolved into Payza. The Montreal company offered its services to customers across the United States, even though the business lacked a license to operate in any state or the District of Columbia.
Throughout Payza’s existence, the company partnered with various money services businesses, such as OboPay in 2012, another online money services business. At Patel’s direction, merchants were not removed from Payza’s platform for being involved in high-risk activities such as Ponzi schemes, money laundering activities, multilevel-marketing (MLM) scams, money-cycler scams, pyramid schemes, and steroid distributors. Payza did not have a Bank Secrecy Act Officer, it did not conduct legally required Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money-laundering audits, and it operated in the United States at various times without registering with the U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) or state authorities.
On July 16, 2020, Patel pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and to launder monetary instruments, based on his operation of Payza. As a condition of his plea, he was required to identify and forfeit any property involved in the offense to which he pleaded guilty. Although Patel had control over more than 450 Bitcoin in Payza’s illicit proceeds—valued at approximately $24,000,000 at the time—he provided false information to the U.S. Probation Office and the Court in an attempt to hide his illicit Bitcoin wealth, including by claiming his only assets were $30,000 in a retirement savings account.
On November 10, 2020, then-District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sentenced the defendant to 36 months in prison and two years of supervised release and entered an agreed-upon order requiring Patel to forfeit any property involved in his offense, as well as any property traceable to such property. Rather than comply, shortly after his sentencing but before reporting to prison, Patel began consolidating Payza’s illicit cryptocurrency proceeds and attempted to deposit them with Binance, a virtual currency exchange. On April 22, 2021, Binance informed Patel that his account was being closed for violating Binance’s terms of service and being flagged by a third-party compliance tool. Forced to withdraw 450 Bitcoin, Patel opened an offshore virtual currency account in his father’s name, listed an address in Belize linked to Payza’s operations, and transferred the same 450 Bitcoin in illicit proceeds into the account shortly before he reported to the Bureau of Prisons. This second virtual currency exchange also deemed the deposit suspicious and froze the funds.
Patel contacted the exchange in June 2021 stating “[i]f this is about me, then realize that I am not beholden to any actions by the USA or any other government authorities. I have paid my dues and I owe nothing to anybody.” Patel tasked a Payza business associate to work on providing false Know Your Customer (KYC) information to the virtual currency exchange in an effort to unfreeze the illicit funds. Had the scheme succeeded, Patel would have successfully hid and laundered the funds and been released from prison with 450 BTC in criminal proceeds awaiting him. The Department of Justice restrained Patel’s Bitcoin through a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty request to the United Kingdom during the course of the investigation.
According to the Government’s sentencing memo, Patel became aware of the investigation while serving his 36-month sentence for the 2020 conviction. As Patel neared his release date, he enlisted the assistance of C.A. to impersonate an attorney and engage in sham negotiations with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. C.A. and Patel planned to string along the assigned Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) long enough for Patel to be released on his 2020 conviction and flee the United States to Canada to avoid prosecution. The AUSA and investigators discovered the false impersonation in advance of Patel’s release date and returned an Indictment of Patel in May 2023. He has been in Bureau of Prisons custody or detained pre-trial since June 2021.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg and Special Assistant United States Attorney Christopher B. Brown of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Jonas Lerman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Valuable assistance was also provided by Scott Meisler and Josh Handell of the Criminal Division’s Appellate Section, and by Trial Attorney Erin Mikita and former Trial Attorney Roberto Iraola of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs. The case was originally investigated by former Assistant United States Attorney Arvind K. Lal.
23cr166
Owner of District Real Estate Company Sentenced for Defrauding Paycheck Protection ProgramRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Patrick Strauss, 54, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 48 months of probation – including six months of home confinement to be followed by a period of intermittent incarceration, that is, 26 weekends in jail – and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $304,900 and fined $8,784, all for participating in a conspiracy that fraudulently obtained more than $304,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, D.C. Inspector General Daniel Lucas, and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C., Field Office.
Strauss pleaded guilty on September 12, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to court documents, Strauss was owner of Powergrid Real Estate LLC. In 2020, he was approached by someone who asked him if he wanted to file an application for a PPP loan. Strauss was aware that Powergrid did not qualify for a PPP loan because it had no employees and no payroll.
A co-conspirator prepared the PPP loan application for Powergrid, that falsely claimed that the company had 16 employees and an average monthly payroll of $132,547.17. The co-conspirator also prepared phony federal tax forms and payroll records to support the fraudulent PPP loan applications.
In July 2020, Strauss submitted the PPP loan application to Capital Bank. On July 29, 2020, Capital Bank wired $304,900 into Powergrid’s bank account. In July 2021, a co-conspirator prepared false and fraudulent federal tax returns. Strauss submitted the faked papers to Capital Bank in support of loan forgiveness for Powergrid.
The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
The PPP allowed qualifying small-businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of 1 percent. PPP loan proceeds were required be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be forgiven if the business spent the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated time after receiving the proceeds and used at least a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.
The case was investigated jointly by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C., Field Office. In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin commended the work of those who investigated the case.
This matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Crabb, Jr.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
24cr374
Maryland Woman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Covid-19 Tenant Assistance ProgramRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Syreeta Price, 51, of Maryland, pleaded guilty today in DC Superior Court to one count of first-degree fraud for obtaining more than $20,000 from a DC Covid-19 tenant assistance program despite having no tenancy in DC. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas.
The Honorable Errol Arthur accepted Price’s plea and scheduled sentencing for April 8, 2025.
According to court documents, in 2021, Price, through a third party, submitted an application to Stronger Together by Assisting You (STAY DC), a DC government program established in 2021 to help cover unpaid rent and utilities for DC renters suffering hardship from the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite actually living in Maryland at the time, Price used the address of an acquaintance in Southeast DC to make herself appear to be a DC resident. The DC government sent her a check for $22,750 intended to cover nearly a year’s worth of unpaid rent for that DC address. Despite knowing she was not eligible for the program, Price cashed the check, deposited it into her personal bank account, and kept the money for her personal use.
This case was investigated by the D.C. Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Bluming.
Guilty Plea in Theft and Sale of Hundreds of Government-Issued Phones and Computers Slated for DestructionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Nikhil Parekh, 37, of Randallstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in connection with the theft and sale of hundreds of government-issued smartphones, laptop computers, and other IT devices that had been slated for destruction.
The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., Chief J. Thomas Manger of the U.S. Capitol Police, and USAID Special Agent in Charge Sean Bottary of the USAID Office of Inspector General.
Parekh pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit an offense against the United States – that is selling stolen goods. U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb scheduled sentencing for May 5, 2025.
According to court documents, between February 2019 and September 2023, Parekh was a driver for an international IT asset disposition company, which operated out of Maryland and, later, Virginia. Several government agencies as well as private companies in the region contracted with the company to take older, obsolete IT assets and completely dismantle and recycle them in a responsible manner. These services including wiping and sanitizing digital storage devices in accordance with nationally promulgated standards.
From 2022 to 2023, Parekh and his unindicted co-conspirators served as drivers for the company and were generally responsible for receiving the IT assets from the victim agencies and companies and either securely shredding them on site or delivering them to secure shredding facilities owned by the company. Instead, however, as Parekh admitted, he and others would surreptitiously remove the IT assets after receiving them and transport them to electronics re-sellers in the area for their own accounts. After pocketing the profits, Parekh and others would then cause the company to issue certificates to the victim agencies and companies certifying that the IT assets had been wiped and destroyed. Parekh admitted that as part of this conspiracy he and others took hundreds of assets with a value of at least $10,000.
Investigating agents of the U.S. Capitol Police and USAID, noting that some of the resold devices still had their government asset tags on them, tracked down evidence of the transfer / sale of devices furnished by the victim agencies and companies from resellers in the area and beyond.
At sentencing, Parekh faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. By virtue of his plea agreement, he has agreed to forfeit a variety of digital devices seized from his home pursuant to a search warrant and has agreed to pay $10,000 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police and United States Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Hart, with valuable assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Baset
24cr545
Alleged Armed Carjacker Charged After ArrestRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Parren Hawkins, 33, of Washington, D.C., was charged today in Superior Court with armed carjacking in connection with an incident, yesterday, in Northeast D.C. The charge was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to documents filed in court, at approximately 2:47 a.m. on February 2, 2025, police officers were dispatched to 331 15th Street NE, where they located the victim of an armed carjacking. The victim told the officers that the defendant approached him as he sat in his vehicle, pointed a black handgun at him and told him to get out of the vehicle. The victim complied. The defendant then demanded money and took the victim’s wallet and cell phone before fleeing northbound on the 400 block of 15th Street, NE. The victim flagged down a passerby and called 911.
As police were interviewing the victim, Prince George’s County Police observed the stolen vehicle in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Officers began pursuing the vehicle until the defendant ultimately crashed into a curb. The driver fled on foot and police caught him on Darrington Road with a handgun in his possession.
Hawkins was presented in court today and ordered detained.
The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaniqua Butler is prosecuting the case.