District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – Kyree Anthony Hairston, 24, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed for the February 2024 fatal shooting of David Coe in the 1200 block of Southern Ave., SE, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Hairston has been in custody since his arrest on March 14, 2024. His guilty plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed upon top half of the guideline period of incarceration of 14 to 18 years, followed by five years of supervised release. Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein accepted the plea today.

            According to the proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, at approximately 2:45 p.m., on February 3, 2024, Hairston and Mr. Coe were in the parking lot area of the Arbor View Apartment Complex located in the 1200 block of Southern Ave., SE. The two engaged in a conversation, part of which was captured on the audio portion of video surveillance footage that captured the shooting. On the surveillance, the defendant can be heard stating, “on my grandmother, you got 30 seconds. On my grandmother” and “you trippin like sh-t.” The surveillance shows Hairston pull the hood of the sweatshirt he was wearing over his head, covering part of his face. Hairston then removed a black handgun from his jacket pocket and pointed it at Mr. Coe. Mr. Coe lunged forward to try and disarm Hairston, but Hairston shot him in the chest before he could do so.  Mr. Coe fell to the ground and as he laid there, Hairston shot Mr. Coe again. Mr. Coe was shot four times and died 20 minutes later.

            This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marybeth Manfreda of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Maurice Driver, 35, of Gloucester City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today to one count of lying to a Federal Agent, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Mike Waters of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General Eastern Area Field Office.

            According to court documents, Driver was employed by Amtrak and was working as a Lead Service Attendant in the café car on an Amtrak train, which departed from Washington, D.C. in the afternoon of January 3, 2024, and ended in Chicago, Illinois, on the morning of January 4, 2024. While working on that train, Driver met a passenger. Driver spoke and texted with the passenger, and Driver allowed her to use a vacant sleeper car on the train. On January 4, in Chicago, that passenger reported to Amtrak Police that Driver sexually assaulted her in a sleeper car on the train. Amtrak-OIG then initiated an investigation of the sexual assault allegations.

            During an interview with an Amtrak-OIG Special Agent, Driver made multiple false and misleading statements about his communications and contacts with the passenger, denying that he gave the passenger his personal phone number, texted with the passenger, and that he showed the passenger to a sleeper car.

            U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson scheduled sentencing for November 6, 2024.

            This case was investigated by the Amtrak OIG with assistance from the Amtrak Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca G. Ross and Brian P. Kelly, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            WASHINGTON –A Superior Court jury found Deon Cannon, 30, of Washington, D.C., guilty of assault with intent to kill while armed of a minor and other charges in a late-afternoon shooting that took place on Labor Day weekend in 2021 on Terrace Road SE at Naylor Gardens, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Cannon also was found guilty of assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon committed against a minor, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. The verdict was returned on August 7, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            The Honorable Judge Rainey Brandt scheduled sentencing for October 11, 2024. Cannon faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.

             According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 5:40 p.m. on September 5, 2021, Cannon was pacing the sidewalk of Terrace Road SE, waiting for the victim to walk in that direction. The victim was walking from the playground with his 6-year-old son when Cannon fired two rounds aimed directly at the victims. In defense of his son, the father fired back. A second shooter came from around the corner and fired 17 more rounds aimed at the victim while his son ran away.

            Cannon followed the victims and was seen by officers within minutes of the shooting. He fled but was later caught and arrested. He has been in custody since. 

            Detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department recovered surveillance video from the residences in the area that captured the shooting.  At the time of Cannon’s arrest, he was wearing clothing that matched that worn by the suspect in the surveillance video. Additionally, the government presented DNA and ballistics evidence.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

            This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Matar and Mark Levy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – A Superior Court jury found Maunyae Worsley, 18, of Washington, D.C., guilty of armed robbery and other charges arising from a robbery of a Northeast gas station, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Worsley was also found guilty of possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, possession of an unregistered firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. The verdict was returned on August 8, 2024.

            The Honorable Jason Park scheduled sentencing for October 18, 2024.

             According to the government’s evidence, on April 9, 2024, at approximately 3:47 a.m., Worsley went to the Exxon gas station in the Brookland neighborhood.  The lone attendant was outside the store, putting up a sign in the window. As the attendant went back inside, Worsley pulled out a tan semiautomatic pistol, grabbed the attendant, and forced him into the employees-only section. Worsley took approximately $5,000 from the cash register and a file cabinet before fleeing the scene.

            The next day, MPD officers were executing an unrelated search warrant at Worsley’s home when they recovered a tan Glock 19X semiautomatic pistol from Worsley’s bedroom.  Officers also recovered a jacket, sweatpants, and shoes from Worsley’s bedroom that matched the clothing the defendant wore during the robbery. Subsequent investigation found that Worsley was wearing a GPS monitor, and his GPS records placed him at the scene of the robbery.

            Worsley was arrested during the execution of the search warrant on April 10, 2024, and he has been in custody since.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department.  

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ella Gladman and Will Lawrence, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Ahmir Lavon Merrell, 22, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for possessing an AR-style pistol and 73 rounds of ammunition on Capitol grounds in November 2023. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the U.S. Capitol Police.

            Merrell pleaded guilty on April 23, 2024, to one count of illegal receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper today ordered Merrell to serve three years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on November 7, 2023, at about 12:40 p.m., a U.S. Capitol Police officer, patrolling the Upper Senate Park between Union Station and the U.S. Capitol, was approached by a citizen who stated that while walking through Lower Senate Park he observed someone holding an object that appeared to be a firearm.

            Multiple officers responded to the scene and observed Merrell, holding an object that appeared to be firearm equipped with a magazine. Officers ordered Merrell to drop the firearm. Merrell refused and replied with words to the effect of "[f]or you to get this gun from me, you are going to have to kill me."

            One of the responding officers deployed a taser. Merrell fell to the ground and dropped the firearm. Merrell was taken into custody without further incident. Officers recovered a Diamondback Arms AR-Style pistol loaded with one .223 caliber round in the chamber and equipped with a 30-round high-capacity ammunition feeding device containing 26 rounds as depicted in Figure 1.

                                                          Figure 1, Diamondback Arms AR-Style Pistol Possessed by The Defendant

            This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Schneider with valuable help from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Harmon.

WASHINGTON – A 28-count superseding indictment, unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charges Shamell Naquan Joyner, 36, of the District of Columbia, with offenses arising out of ten armed robberies of commercial establishments and two armed carjackings that he allegedly committed between April 12 and May 2, 2023, in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. The charges build on a previous indictment in which Joyner was charged with six armed commercial robberies and one armed carjacking. The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

            According to the superseding indictment, on April 12, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the Falcon Fuel gas station and convenience store, located at 1301 13th Street Northwest, stealing money and personal property from the business and two employees while holding them at gunpoint. Joyner also is alleged to have discharged his firearm at two store employees during this robbery, neither of whom was wounded. 

            One day after the Falcon Fuel robbery, on April 13, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have carjacked a man at gunpoint in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood. Joyner allegedly stole the man’s Honda HR-V and drove it across state lines into Virginia. The government’s evidence shows that Joyner used that car to commit subsequent armed robbery offenses, including an April 15, 2023, armed robbery of the 7-Eleven store at 1100 Vermont Avenue Northwest, in which an employee was held at gunpoint.

            On April 17, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the 7-Eleven store at 3023 Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia, and an employee at gunpoint. Joyner allegedly discharged his firearm during this robbery, causing a store employee to sustain a non–life threatening gunshot wound to his leg. The government’s evidence connects this armed robbery to the April 12, 2023, robbery of Falcon Fuel, in which Joyner is also alleged to have discharged his firearm.

            On April 30, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the 7-Eleven store at 7401 Georgia Avenue Northwest and an employee, again at gunpoint. Joyner allegedly robbed another two stores at gunpoint the next day, May 1, 2023, including the 7‑Eleven store at 1325 2nd Street Northeast and the 721 Shop & Run and an employee at 721 H Street Northeast.

            Finally, on May 2, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the 7-Eleven store at 1645 Connecticut Avenue Northwest and an employee; the 7-Eleven store at 8484 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, Maryland; the 7-Eleven store at 1101 Annapolis Road in Odenton, Maryland; and the Exxon Auto Service Center at 7898 Ridge Road in Hanover, Maryland.  All the May 2, 2023, robberies were also committed at gunpoint. During the Exxon robbery, Joyner additionally is alleged to have carjacked an employee by holding him at gunpoint and robbing him of the keys to his nearby Toyota RAV4, which Joyner then stole and drove across state lines into the District of Columbia. 

            Later that day, in the 400 block of Condon Terrace Southeast, the Metropolitan Police Department found Joyner in the carjacked RAV4’s driver’s seat and arrested him without incident. At the time of his arrest, Joyner was in possession of the firearm used in the armed robberies committed between April 30, 2023, and May 2, 2023, as well as unique clothing and other evidence that tied him to numerous offenses.

            Joyner has been detained since his May 2, 2023, arrest. The case is assigned to the Honorable Rudolph Contreras.

            The superseding indictment charges Joyner with 28 counts: ten counts of interference with commerce by robbery (also known as Hobbs Act robbery), which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; two counts of carjacking, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; 12 related counts of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; two counts of interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and/or ammunition, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Under the superseding indictment, Joyner faces a mandatory minimum of 90 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering applicable sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Violent Crime Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. Valuable assistance has been provided by the Office of the State’s Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland; the Office of the State’s Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland; the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria, Virginia; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Alexandria City, Anne Arundel County, Fairfax County, and Prince George’s County Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul V. Courtney and Justin F. Song of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            The investigation into these offenses and potentially related armed robberies of commercial establishments located in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia remains ongoing.  Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

           An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            WASHINGTON —A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Brent Wood, 35, of Toledo, Ohio, with three counts of obstructing by force or threat of force a person’s enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs, while using a dangerous weapon. 

            The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia and FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the Washington Field Office.

            The indictment alleges that on December 17, 2023, Wood drove a U-Haul truck around security barriers and parked on the sidewalk directly in front of Kesher Israel Congregation Synagogue, at 2801 N St NW, Washington, DC. Over the next several minutes, while in the immediate vicinity of the synagogue, Wood accosted congregants and others by spraying a noxious aerosol and yelling, “Gas the Jews!” 

            Wood faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the three counts. The hate crimes sentencing enhancement increases the guidelines range of the potential sentence. Wood previously was charged in D.C. Superior Court with simple assault. He is currently a fugitive in that case. 

            This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Crabb Jr.

            For more information and resources about the Justice Department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

            An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WASHINGTON – Jonathan Brown, 31, was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison for participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed crack cocaine in Northwest Washington D.C. and for his involvement in the July 31, 2021, slaying of Kervin Sanches, an innocent bystander, caught in a shootout on a street corner controlled by members of Brown’s drug trafficking conspiracy.

            The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Brown, aka “Tsunami,” of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty on June 17 to a two-count criminal Information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and voluntary manslaughter while armed. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered Brown to serve four years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, in late 2021, the MPD and FBI began investigating violent crime and drug trafficking activities near 7th Street and O Street, NW. During the investigation, Brown visited a stash house at 1221 M Street on a regular basis. Brown sold controlled substances with co-conspirators on various occasions and text messages recovered from his phone indicated that he was selling fentanyl and cocaine base. Law enforcement used undercover officers to purchase hundreds of grams of cocaine base and fentanyl from members of the drug trafficking conspiracy. 

            During the investigation, law enforcement determined the group was working together to control the drug trafficking activity in their territory. Their territory was primarily located at the corner of 7th and O Streets, NW, the site of the July 31, 2021, shootout that resulted in Kervin Sanches’ death.

            On July 31, 2021, at about 11:20 p.m., Brown traveled by car to the area of 7th and O Streets NW with a loaded firearm. An unidentified male in a grey Pontiac followed Brown and parked nearby. Brown exited his car and then walked across the street to meet with a group of associates and others. As Brown approached the group, the unidentified male approached with a gun in his hand. Brown pulled a firearm from his waistband and began shooting at the unidentified gunman, who returned fire. The group scattered. Brown and the gunman continued to shoot at each other while taking cover behind trees and cars. As the gun battle continued, occupants of a white automobile parked near Brown’s car also began shooting at the unidentified gunman. Police later recovered more than 25 shell casings at the scene.

            Sanches, who had been part of the group standing on the corner of 7th and O Streets, was struck by a bullet as he attempted to flee the gunfire. Sanches, the dean of students at a local charter school, died of his wounds at a nearby hospital.

            Brown was previously sentenced in District Court case 22-cr-114 (TJK) on March 26, 2024, to 51 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful possession of ammunition by a prohibited person. His 180-month sentenced he received today will run consecutive to that 51-month sentence.

            This case was investigated by the MPD and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Rosenberg, Solomon Eppel, and Erin DeRiso of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia joined law enforcement partners, along with community organizers and neighbors, at Sycamore & Oak in the District’s Congress Heights neighborhood, for National Night Out this evening.

            “Our fellow community members both inspire us in our work and are invaluable partners in our efforts to hold those who harm our community accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “On National Night Out, we thank our fellow community members for all that they are doing in this fight—the 35% reduction in violent crime we have seen this year would not be possible without their partnership.” 

            This year, hundreds of residents across the District of Columbia participated in various National Night Out events in their communities. This annual community-building campaign promotes partnerships and camaraderie between law enforcement and the communities they serve in order to foster safer neighborhoods. Established in 1984 with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, the initiative is administered by the National Association of Town Watch, a nationwide non-profit organization.

            With coordination by local law enforcement and community partners, National Night Out provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together in a positive way, by hosting neighborhood block parties, cookouts, safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, and more fun activities. National Night Out sends a message that neighbors are united and working together to keep their communities and each other safe.

            For more information, visit https://natw.org/.  

WASHINGTON – Deangelo Richardson, 22, of Washington, DC, pleaded guilty on August 2, 2024, to committing an armed carjacking on July 14, 2022 and armed robbery on November 26, 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Richardson pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of armed carjacking and one count of armed robbery. The Honorable Erik Christian scheduled sentencing for November 1, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 14, 2022, Richardson along with two unidentified co-conspirators committed a series of violent offenses in Washington, D.C., ending with an armed carjacking near the 600 block of Morton Place NE.  During the commission of each violent crime, all three assailants covered their faces. Richardson and his unidentified co-conspirators, armed with firearms, attempted to carjack two separate individuals before proceeding to the 600 block of Morton Place NE at approximately 6:49 p.m. Once at the location, they approached the victim who was parking her car at the location. One of the co-conspirators brandished a handgun and stated, “Give me everything!” Richardson and two associates took the victim’s car keys, phone, and credit cards attached to her phone, and other property. Then they took her car.  Richardson later used the victim’s credit card at gas stations and a restaurant. 

            Richardson also pleaded guilty to an armed robbery that took place on November 26, 2022, near the 1300 block of South Carolina Avenue SE. At approximately 7:54 p.m., Richardson parked a car ahead of the victims who were walking their dog after dinner. When the couple walked near his car, the defendant jumped out with a gun and robbed the husband of his phone.  Richardson was arrested that evening after a vehicle pursuit.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Taskforce Unit. This case was being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Evans and Omeed Assefi.

            WASHINGTON – Omolere Omomowo, 43, a resident of Laurel, Maryland and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who led several companies that claimed to provide mental health rehabilitative services to some of the District’s most vulnerable citizens, was indicted on August 1, 2024, along with five “community support workers” (CSWs) employed by his company, on charges that they conspired to and did defraud the D.C. Medicaid program of over $10 million by engaging in a scheme to submit bills for mental-health related services that were not medically necessary, not reimbursable, and did not occur.

            The indictment was announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office, and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia. 

            Law enforcement arrested Omomowo earlier today in Fort Lauderdale. He made his initial appearance earlier today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Co-defendant Zilah Bessem, 36, a resident of Frisco, Texas, who previously lived in Maryland, was charged in the same indictment and arrested Thursday evening at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. She made her initial appearance earlier today in the U.S. District for the Northern District of Texas and was detained pending trial.

            The remaining four co-defendants – Gregory Clark of Washington, D.C., Ernest Ikomi of Beltsville, Maryland, Diane Mochi of Adelphi, Maryland, and Seraphine Nwufor of Bowie, Maryland – are expected to make their initial appearances in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the next week.

            According to the indictment, Omomowo hatched the conspiracy in early 2020, while serving as the chief financial officer of a D.C.-based mental health provider, Prestige Healthcare Resources. After Prestige obtained certification from D.C.’s Department of Behavioral Health to start an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program, Omomowo took the lead in implementing the program. In the District, the ACT program provides intensive, integrated services to the most at-risk adults, individuals with an “intractable, serious, and persistent mental illness.” Under Medicaid rules, ACT providers were authorized to submit bills for a greater number of hours and at a higher rate given the seriousness of the mental-health and substance-abuse issues faced by program participants.

            The indictment alleges that, shortly after Prestige obtained its ACT authorization, Omomowo orchestrated a scheme by which most, if not all, of the consumers on certain CSWs’ caseloads were stepped up from receiving standard mental health services into receiving services as part of the ACT Program. Omomowo and his co-conspirators allegedly implemented this scheme by directing the submission of false and fraudulent assessments despite knowing that ACT services were not medically necessary for the consumers. Omomowo and his co-defendants then allegedly billed Medicaid for ACT services that were not medically necessary as well as for services that did not occur.

            According to the indictment, in April 2021, following an employment dispute with the CEO of Prestige, Omomowo resigned and started a new company, The Marcaulay Group, to continue the fraudulent billing scheme. At Omomowo’s direction, the co-defendant CSWs also left Prestige and joined The Marcaulay Group. The Marcaulay Group, however, was not certified with the Department of Behavioral Health, so Omomowo partnered with D.C.-based mental health service providers Affordable Home Healthcare LLC and later Goshen Healthcare Management Services LLC.  

            Because Affordable did not have an ACT Program, the Medicaid beneficiaries Omomowo and his CSWs sought to transfer from Prestige required medical assessments to determine whether they continued to need ACT services. The indictment alleges that Omomowo and an unnamed co-conspirator directed the CSW co-defendants to initiate a blanket ACT step-down process without regard to medical necessity and on the basis of false and fraudulent assessments. Omomowo and his co-defendants then conspired to and did submit false and fraudulent encounter notes for standard mental health services to Medicaid that (1) grossly inflated the amount of time spent conducting the mental health services; (2) were based on activities not authorized to be reimbursed by Medicaid; and (3) for mental health service encounters that did not occur.

            For this conduct, the indictment charges all six defendants with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. It also charges Omomowo with an additional 10 counts of substantive health care fraud, and each of the five co-defendants with an additional two counts of health care fraud. In addition, Omomowo is charged with four counts of expenditure money laundering for making large purchases with the proceeds of the fraud scheme.

            If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and lesser penalties for the other offenses. The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided for informational purposes. The sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the D.C. Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Valuable assistance was provided by the Department of Health and Human Services and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

            It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Howland of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jason Facci, on detail from the D.C. Office of the Inspector General.

            An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

WASHINGTON -- A Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges related to his conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His alleged actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

Nicholas Waldon Smotherman, 41, of Mt. Juliet is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.

In addition to the felonies, Smotherman is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in restricted grounds or buildings, disorderly and disruptive conduct in restricted grounds or buildings, engaging in physical violence in restricted grounds or buildings, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

The FBI arrested Smotherman today in Hermitage, Tennessee, and he will make his initial appearance in the Middle District of Tennessee.

According to court documents, it is alleged that Smotherman was identified among a crowd of rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, amassed on the Upper West Plaza of the U.S. Capitol grounds. At approximately 2:28 p.m., a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer's body-worn camera captured Smotherman standing in front of the bike racks and a police line on the southwest side of the Upper West Plaza.

Here, a group of rioters had begun pulling on the bike racks. Smotherman was seen on body-worn camera next to the group, appearing to advance toward at an MPD officer. Police then commanded the rioters to move back. Instead, the rioters pulled the bike rack barricades to the ground, and Smotherman moved forward toward the police line. It is alleged that Smotherman then approached an MPD officer and pushed the officer with both hands.

The officer then attempted to push Smotherman back using a baton, but Smotherman stood upright and yelled, "Hit me with it again." When the officer again attempted to push Smotherman back, Smotherman allegedly grabbed the officer's baton and attempted to pull it away. As Smotherman acted, he yelled, "I'll f— take this" and "Come out here b—." The officer managed to prevent Smotherman from taking the baton while another officer deployed pepper spray, and Smotherman retreated.

Soon after this, rioters overran the police line on the Upper West Plaza, and officers retreated to the Lower West Terrace.  A large crowd of rioters then gathered in and around the entrance to the Lower West Terrace Door, referred to as the "Tunnel," the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th. Smotherman was later identified in and around the Tunnel.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The case is being investigated by the FBI's Memphis and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department. Smotherman was identified as Assault on Federal Officer (AFO) #364.

In the 42 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,470 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 530 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

A complaint 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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WASHINGTON – Darnell Lamont Savoy, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today today to 60 months in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, which was revealed during the investigation into an October 2022 stabbing. The stabbing occurred while Savoy was on pre-trial release -- over the federal government’s written and oral objections -- in connection with the December 2018 shooting of a 14-year-old boy in Northeast.

            The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Savoy pleaded guilty on April 17, 2024, to use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly. In addition to the five-year prison sentence, Judge Kelly today ordered Savoy to serve four years of supervised release.

            Despite the federal government’s written and oral objections, in 2021, Savoy was released from custody while awaiting trial in Superior Court on charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and related offenses stemming from the 2018 shooting. 

            According to court documents, months later, on October 11, 2022, Savoy allegedly stabbed a person during an argument and fled the scene. Investigators tracked Savoy to the 3900 block of Southern Avenue, SE. On the morning of October 21, 2022, MPD officers and FBI agents executed a search warrant at an apartment unit where Savoy was staying with a woman and a 3-year-old child. During the search, law enforcement found a plastic bag containing 4.55 grams of an off-white powder, a digital scale with white powder residue, a red cut straw with white powder residue, and a two-pack of naloxone. The powder and the residues tested positive for fentanyl.

            In a blue jacket that contained Savoy’s ID and credit card, investigators discovered 27 zip baggies with an off-white powder weighing a total of 7.3 grams, 29 blue pills stamped M30, 16 red zip baggies containing an off-white powder weighing nearly 5 grams, and $473 in U.S. currency. The powders tested positive for fentanyl.

            In a hall closet, on top of a dryer, officers discovered a loaded, unregistered, semi-automatic Glock 30, loaded with 24 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition. DNA testing linked Savoy to the firearm. The fentanyl recovered during the search warrant was found in a common area of the apartment that the three-year-old had access to, which could have led to the death or serious injury of the child.

            On March 29, 2024, Savoy and two co-defendants -- Jamal Matthews and Stefon Freshley -- pleaded guilty in Superior Court to their roles in the December 28, 2018, shooting of a father and son in the Clay Terrace neighborhood. Savoy was driving as Matthews fired 30 shots into an SUV in which the father and son were sitting. The boy was shot nine times, including in the head, abdomen, chest, and back. The father sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and hand. The three men are scheduled to be sentenced for those offenses on August 30.

            The federal case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Long and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Stempel. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Hart and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Rasalam.

            The shooting of the boy and his father was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberley Nielsen and Sharon Donovan. 

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WASHINGTON – Christopher Rodriguez, 45, of Panama City, Fla., pleaded guilty today to a three-count superseding information charging him in the September 2023 attempted bombing outside the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington, D.C., and a November 2022 bombing of a sculpture depicting communist leaders Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong in San Antonio, Tex.

            The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves of the District of Columbia and Special Agent in Charge Craig B. Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington Field Division.

            Rodriguez, a licensed Florida attorney, pleaded guilty today to damaging property occupied by a foreign government, explosive materials—malicious damage to federal property, and receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device).

            According to court documents, on September 23-24, 2023, Rodriguez drove from his home in Panama City, Fla., to Northern Virginia with a rifle and 15 pounds of explosive material. En route, he stopped in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville, Va., to buy a black backpack, nitrile gloves, and a burner cell phone. On September 24, he parked his car in Arlington, Va., and used the burner phone to arrange for a taxi to drive him to within a few blocks of the Chinese Embassy. Sometime between midnight and 3:00 a.m. near the back wall of the Embassy in Northwest Washington, Rodriguez placed the black backpack filled with explosives next to a streetlight. Rodriguez then attempted to detonate the explosives by shooting at the backpack with a rifle. Rodriguez missed his target, and the device failed to detonate. Law enforcement officers later recovered the backpack containing explosive material, three shell casings, and bullet fragmentations from the ground along the outer perimeter wall of the Chinese Embassy. Impact marks were found on the Embassy wall near the bullet fragments behind the backpack.

            Also according to court documents, DNA obtained from the black backpack was found to be consistent with DNA evidence obtained from a previous arrest of Rodriguez in June 2021 in California. During the California incident, Rodriguez possessed three firearms and apparent explosive material consistent with the explosives used during the Chinese Embassy attack. DNA evidence obtained from Rodriguez pursuant to a buccal swab warrant later confirmed this DNA match.

          Between November 5 and 7, 2022, according to court documents, Rodriguez rented a vehicle in Pensacola, Fla., and drove to San Antonio, Tex. At approximately 2:25 a.m. on November 7, Rodriguez scaled an eight-foot fence to enter a courtyard on the 300 block of West Commerce Street, San Antonio. Inside the courtyard, he placed two canisters of explosive materials at the base of a satirical steel sculpture titled “Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin’s Head.” At about 2:30 a.m. on November 7, Rodriguez used a rifle to shoot at the canisters at the base of the statue, causing an explosion that caused significant damage to the Miss Mao sculpture.

            The ATF arrested Rodriguez on November 4, 2023, in Lafayette, La. He has been held since that date.

            This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Washington Field Division. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Florida, the Western District of Louisiana, and the Western District of Texas; the ATF’s Tampa, New Orleans, and Houston Field Divisions; the FBI’s Washington and San Antonio Field Offices; the San Antonio Field Office of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Secret Service, Uniformed Division and Foreign Missions Detective Unit; the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security; and the Metropolitan Police Department.

             The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jolie F. Zimmerman and Stuart D. Allen. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maeghan Mikorski and Kelly Stephenson and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McCarthy.

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WASHINGTON – Eric Davis, 61, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 60 years in prison for the July 2021 shooting of Theodore “Bino” Riley in the Kingman Park neighborhood. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).           

            A Superior Court jury found Davis guilty of first-degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence or dangerous offense on May 2, 2024, before the Honorable Michael O’Keefe.

            According to evidence presented during the trial, on July 19, 2021, at around 7:33 p.m., Davis was captured on surveillance walking with the victim, Theodore Riley, to an alley adjacent to 1608 Gales Street Northeast. Once in the alley, Davis shot Mr. Riley once in the head. The defendant then quickly walked out of the south end of the alley and fled while attempting to change his outward appearance by putting on a long-sleeved shirt over the short-sleeved shirt he had been wearing. Mr. Riley was found in the alley face-down with a single .45 caliber casing at his feet. Davis was arrested on September 22, 2021. 

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted and tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen Gibbons and Saman Danai of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Bayo Thomas Bakare, 42, a previously convicted sex offender, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for possessing six videos of child sexual abuse materials on his mobile phone in September 2023 and maintaining additional child exploitation videos on an online storage application. At the time of the offense, Bakare was on supervised release for a previous conviction of distributing child pornography. The sentencing was announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.

            Bakare pleaded guilty February 8, 2024, to a charge of access with intent to view child pornography. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered Bakare to serve 15 years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on April 15, 2023, law enforcement agencies conducted compliance checks of sex offenders registered within Washington, D.C. Bakare, who lived on the 3200 block of 8th Street, NE, was a registered sex offender in the District due to a 2016 conviction on a charge of distribution of child pornography for which he was sentenced to 60 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

            Bakare met the law enforcement agents at his front door. The group was comprised of members of the U.S. Probation Office (USPO), United States Marshals Service (USMS), Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), and a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force (CEHTTF). Bakare indicated that he needed to retrieve clothes from his bedroom. The USPO member followed Bakare into his bedroom. The USPO member spotted a Galaxy A11 cell phone, and an Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max plugged into a wall charger. Bakare said that the Galaxy phone was being monitored by USPO. Bakare reported that the Apple iPhone was not monitored. Because Bakare was on supervised release, he was forbidden to have a phone that was not monitored by the USPO. The iPhone was seized. The USPO subjected the iPhone to a forensic extraction which revealed six videos depicting child exploitation and an additional 30 video depicting likely child exploitation stored on the Discord application.

            This case was investigated by the U.S. Probation Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Foreman.

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WASHINGTON – Hanif Brown, 18, of Washington, D.C., was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with 81 charges for his role in a criminal conspiracy to commit armed carjackings, armed robberies, identity theft, credit card fraud, and vehicle theft during the Spring of 2023, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced.

            A grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia returned an indictment yesterday charging Hanif Brown with conspiracy, two counts of armed carjacking, carjacking of a senior citizen, thirteen counts of armed robbery, sixteen counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, first-degree and second-degree identity theft of senior citizens, credit card fraud of a senior citizen, three counts of first-degree theft, three counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, eight counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle during a crime of violence, and 31 firearm related charges.

           Brown was arraigned on August 1, 2024, at a hearing before the Honorable Michael O’Keefe. If convicted, Brown faces mandatory minimum sentences of fifteen years for each armed carjacking, seven years for unarmed carjacking, and five years for each firearm-related offense.

            According to the government’s evidence, in 2021, Brown and other suspects created a Cash App account using a senior citizen’s stolen personal identifying information. Two years later, beginning in March 2023, Brown and his associates commenced a months-long crime spree in which he and his associates stole vehicles and used those vehicles to commit carjackings and gunpoint robberies. During those robberies, Brown and his associates stole currency and jewelry and forced their victims to surrender the passcodes for their phones, which Brown and his associates then accessed to initiate unauthorized monetary transfers via Cash App.

            Over a two-week period during the months of March 2023 and April 2023, Brown and his associates committed three armed carjackings – one of which was a brazen attack in the Third Street Tunnel and another in which a senior citizen was the victim.  Over this same time period, Brown and his associates committed five armed robberies in D.C. and one in Hyattsville, Maryland, with a total of more than 10 victims. Brown and his associates then used phones stolen from the robbery victims to illegally transfer funds from their Cash App accounts to Brown.

            In May 2023, Brown and his associates continued their violent crime spree and committed several more armed robberies – one in which the victim was robbed at gunpoint on H Street NE of the victim’s phone, which was subsequently used to illegally transfer funds from the victim to Brown’s Cash App account and another in which two victims were robbed of their high-end jewelry at gunpoint. Brown then shared social media posts depicting himself wearing the proceeds from the robbery.

            Brown was ultimately arrested on May 15, 2023.  He has been in custody since his arrest.

            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 a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

WASHINGTON – Jameson McNeil, 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced yesterday by Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz to 22 years in prison for a series of crimes he committed between August 2022 and February 2023. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            McNeil pleaded guilty on May 6, 2024, to one count of armed carjacking and four counts of robbery. According to court documents, on February 7, 2023, McNeil was armed with what appeared to be a handgun when he ordered a woman out of her car while she was inside a parking garage in the 800 block of P Street NW. The robberies stemmed from McNeil’s targeting of female victims who were walking alone. On August 1, 2022, McNeil approached a woman walking alone in the 600 block of 21st Street SE and robbed her of her purse. Between February 13, 2023 and February 15, 2023, McNeil robbed three other women of their property – one in the 400 block of 7th Street NE, one in the 400 block of G Street NE, and one in the 1700 block of A Street SE. McNeil committed an armed carjacking on Capitol Hill in April 2023. He was running from the victims’ car when MPD officers found him hiding under a different car. 

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Dinan, Ronald Chester, Shauna Payyappilly and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Forgie, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Stephon Harrigan, 31, was sentenced today to 210 months in prison for a 2022 spree of approximately three dozen armed robberies and attempted robberies of various commercial business. The robbed establishments included gas stations, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, check cashers, and liquor stores in the District and suburban Maryland. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Harrigan pleaded guilty on March 25, 2024, to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (also known as Hobbs Act robbery) and possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington D.C.

            Harrigan’s co-defendant and brother, Aaron Harrigan, 28, pleaded guilty on October 3, 2023, to a charge of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery for his participation in four of the robberies. Aaron Harrigan was sentenced to 87 months in prison on September 25, 2023. Co-defendant Tavarus Thompson pleaded guilty on March 29, 2024, and is awaiting sentencing. 

            According to court documents, the spree began on January 12, 2022, with the gunpoint robbery of a gas station on 18th Street, NE, Washington, D.C. It ended on March 6, 2022, when law enforcement stopped a stolen car at the intersection of 1st Street and Gallatin Street, NW, and its occupants fled on foot. Stephon Harrigan forced his way into a woman’s vehicle and ordered her to drive him away, but the car collided with an unmarked MPD vehicle. Law enforcement then arrested him.

            During the first three months of 2022, Stephon Harrigan and/or Tavarus Thompson, along with, at times, other individuals, entered an additional approximately 34 establishments while armed with at least one firearm. In general, they brandished at least one gun and demanded money. They generally obtained cash or other property of the establishments, as well as, at times, property belonging to individuals in the establishments.

            ­­­­On March 6, 2022, law enforcement captured Stephon Harrigan. Tavarus Thompson was arrested in South Carolina on March 18, 2022, and Aaron Harrigan was arrested on March 29, 2022.

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Violent Crime Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Columbia, South Carolina Field Office, and the Mount Rainier, Md., Prince George’s County, Md., and Montgomery County, Md. Police Departments.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Solomon Eppel of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Kinskey and Andrea Duvall, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Fletcher.

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WASHINGTON – Eric Davis Jr., 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced after pleading guilty to aggravated assault while armed for a 2023 shooting in a carry-out restaurant located in the 1400 block of H Street NE. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.    

            On July 26, 2024, Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan sentenced Davis to 84 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised probation.  The defendant was sentenced under the Youth Rehabilitation Act over the government’s objection. 

            According to the government’s evidence, with which the defendant agreed, at approximately 12:30 pm on May 24, 2023, Davis entered a carry-out restaurant in the 1400 block of H Street NE to pick up a food order.  As soon as Davis reached the counter, the victim threw a plastic bag at Davis, consistent with a food order. Davis quickly grabbed the plastic bag and threw it back at the victim.  Davis then pulled out a concealed handgun from his waistband and fired multiple times, hitting the victim, before fleeing to his girlfriend’s home.  Davis was arrested on November 28, 2023 and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault while armed on May 6, 2024. 

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department who investigated the case.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Evans, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Lucas Allen Fussell, 42, of Onley, Virginia, was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott, of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           The indictment, unsealed today, alleges that on June 22, 2024, and again on June 30, 2024, Fussell, a former nurse practitioner, distributed numerous image and video files depicting adult men engaged in sexual intercourse with prepubescent minor boys.

          According to court documents, between December 20, 2023, and February 7, 2024, Fussell used an anonymous account on an end-to-end encrypted messaging application to exchange videos and images containing child pornography with another individual whose phone was later seized and searched by the FBI pursuant to a search warrant. In the course of those conversations, Fussell shared details that revealed his identity. Those details included his home address, a description of his vehicle, and numerous comments about examining the genitals of patients—some as young as 11 years old—that he saw in the course of his work as a nurse practitioner. In June 2024, an undercover agent with the FBI-MPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force used the seized phone to respond to a message from Fussell on the end-to-end encrypted messaging app. On June 22, 2024, and again on June 30, 2024, Fussell sent the undercover agent numerous images and videos depicting the rape and sexual abuse of prepubescent boys.

          On July 16, 2024, the FBI executed a search warrant at Fussell’s residence in Onley, Virginia, and seized numerous encrypted electronic devices. Fussell was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint and arrest warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He has remained detained ever since.

          Distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a statutory maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment. The statutory sentences for federal offenses are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes.  Any sentence will be determined by the Court based on the advisory Sentencing Guideline and other statutory factors.

          This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc.

          This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and MPD’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. 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.  Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI Norfolk Field Office, the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office, the Onley Police Department, CEOS’s High Technology Investigative Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

         The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

          Anyone with additional information about Fussell’s alleged conduct is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or to submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.  

          An 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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WASHINGTON – Rasheed Jenkins, 25, of Washington, D.C., was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges arising out of armed carjackings he allegedly committed in August 2023 and January 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            The superseding indictment, unsealed today, charges Jenkins with two counts of carjacking, two related counts of using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.  The indictment alleges that Jenkins committed armed carjackings on August 25, 2023, and January 26, 2024.  The indictment further alleges that on August 26, 2023, and February 2, 2024, Jenkins unlawfully possessed semi-automatic pistols and ammunition. Federal law prohibits Jenkins from possessing firearms and ammunition because he was previously convicted, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland, of offenses that are punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. 

            According to Court documents, on August 25, 2023, Jenkins carjacked a man at gunpoint outside a residence in Southeast Washington, D.C., taking a Dodge Charger.  After MPD’s Air Support Unit spotted the carjacked vehicle and illuminated it with a spotlight, Jenkins fled through the District before abandoning the vehicle in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C.  MPD officers found Jenkins hiding near the basement entrance of a row home in the block, and they recovered a loaded Smith & Wesson M&P9 Shield 9mm semi-automatic pistol from a mailbox just feet away.  On January 26, 2024, Jenkins and an unidentified accomplice carjacked a woman at gunpoint outside of a convenience store in Capitol Heights, Maryland, taking a BMW 328i.  A week later, on February 2, 2024, officers with the Forest Heights Police Department spotted the carjacked BMW in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and attempted a traffic stop.  Jenkins fled at a high rate of speed, leading officers on a chase into the District of Columbia.  He ultimately abandoned the vehicle in the Eastern Market neighborhood of Southeast Washington, D.C., and was apprehended after a short foot pursuit.  Officers recovered a loaded Glock 30 Gen4 .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol from the vehicle’s backseat.  DNA testing and analysis linked Jenkins to the firearms recovered during his August 2023 and February 2024 arrests.  In addition, ATF Special Agents later obtained historical cell site location data for Jenkins’ cellphone, which revealed that Jenkins’ phone was present near the scenes of both the August 2023 and January 2024 armed carjackings. 

            A federal grand jury previously indicted Jenkins for his February 2, 2024, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Jenkins was arrested on July 4, 2024, and has remained detained ever since.  The case is assigned to the Honorable Dabney L. Friedrich of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

            Jenkins faces a mandatory minimum of 14 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by the Court after considering the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The case is being investigated by the ATF Washington Field Division’s Strategic Pattern Armed Robbery Technical Apprehension Group (SPARTA).  Valuable assistance was provided by MPD, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Forest Heights Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul V. Courtney and Cameron A. Tepfer with significant assistance from former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Toth.

WASHINGTON – Damion Byrd, 21, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 90 months in prison for the armed robberies of two commercial businesses – a convenience store and a fast-food restaurant – in December 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           Byrd pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery (also known as a Hobbs Act robbery) on December 20, 2023, in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison term, District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ordered Byrd to serve three years of supervised release.

        According to court documents, on December 13, 2022, at 11:41 p.m. Byrd entered a convenience store on the 2300 block of Rhode Island Ave., NE, and asked an employee for juice. The employee told Byrd that the juice was in the refrigerator. Byrd retrieved a bottle of water and walked towards the counter where he tossed a $1 bill. Byrd then pointed a firearm at the employee and stated, “I need the money all the money you have.” The employee emptied the register and handed over the cash.

           An hour later, on December 14, 2022, at 12:43 a.m., Byrd drove a silver-colored sedan to the drive-thru window of a fast-food restaurant on the 3900 block of Minnesota Ave., NE. Byrd exited the vehicle, pointed a firearm at a cashier, and said, “Open the register and I won’t shoot.” The cashier ran away. Byrd reached in the window, grabbed the cash register, and fled in the vehicle. 

           Byrd was arrested in the District on January 11, 2023, and has been detained since.

            This case was investigated by MPD officers and FBI agents who collaborated as members of MPD's Violent Crime Suppression Unit and FBI's Washington Field Office's Violent Crimes Task Force.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Paralegal Karla Nunez provided valuable assistance.

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WASHINGTON – Stephon Lee, 22, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to just over 10 years in prison for committing a string of six robberies that targeted local businesses, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Lee pleaded guilty on April 19, 2024, to two counts of armed robbery, two counts of robbery, one count of attempted armed robbery, and one count of second-degree theft.  Today, the Honorable Judge Robert Salerno sentenced the defendant to 129 months of incarceration, to be followed by five years’ of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, beginning in April 2023 and ending with his arrest in July 2023, Lee robbed a dry cleaner, fast-food restaurants, a pharmacy, and two local convenience stores. Lee targeted stores throughout the city, striking when there were few or no customers. In each instance, Lee attempted to steal money from the cash register. But when he could not easily take the money, Lee fought his victims. On two occasions, Lee was armed with a knife, and one occasion he grabbed a nearby pair of scissors.

            On April 5, 2023, Lee went to a dry cleaner on Alabama Avenue SE under the auspices of dry cleaning his jacket. As Lee asked the victim how much the dry cleaning would cost, he suddenly walked behind the counter, grabbed the victim by the back of the neck, and demanded that she open the register. When the victim did not comply quickly enough, the two struggled. Lee grabbed a pair of scissors from under the counter, put them to the victim’s neck, and threatened to stab her if she refused to open the register. She opened the register and Lee took cash before fleeing.

            On June 18, 2023, Lee ordered a sandwich at a fast-food franchise on Riggs Road NE, and then left abruptly, saying that he would come back to pay.  About 30 minutes later, Lee returned and stood behind a customer who was checking out. Once the employee opened the register to give the customer change, Lee lunged across the counter, grabbed the money tray, and fled the store.

            On June 23, 2023, Lee was armed with a knife when he entered a pharmacy on Ingraham Street NE.  When the victim, a store employee, was alone, Lee went behind the counter, pulled out a knife, and demanded money from the register. When the victim could not open the register quickly enough, Lee pressed his knife against the victim’s side. The victim opened the register, and Lee took the cash and ran out of the store.

            On June 26, 2023, Lee went to a convenience store on First Street NW.  As the cashier stood at the register, Lee walked behind the counter, opened the register, took the cash, and fled.

            On July 10, 2023, Lee entered a food market on Fourth Street NW. He took an item and attempted to leave the store when a store employee pepper sprayed him.  Lee threw the item at the victim, pulled out a knife, and waived it at her.  He then grabbed the cash register from the counter and, while still holding the knife, repeatedly slammed the register on the ground until it opened.  He took cash from the register and fled.

            On July 10, 2023, Lee went to a fast-food restaurant on Marion Barry Avenue SE and milled around as other customers ordered. One customer, with her infant in a stroller next to her, ordered a meal and started to pay with cash. When the restaurant cashier opened the register to give the customer change, Lee lunged across the counter and grabbed cash from the register before fleeing.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department.  They commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Miller and Will Lawrence.

WASHINGTON – Today, a D.C. Superior Court jury returned a guilty verdict against Keanan Turner, 34, of Clinton, Maryland, for the murders of Wanda Wright and Ebony Wright on April 12, 2021, in the 2300 block of Good Hope Court SE, Washington D.C. The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Turner was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder while armed with aggravated circumstances, assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, attempted first degree murder of a minor, second degree cruelty to children, arson, destruction of property. In addition to these charges, Turner was found guilty of four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence and carrying a pistol without a license. 

            A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 14, 2024, in front of Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan. Because of the aggravated circumstances, Turner faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

            According to the evidence presented at trial, Ebony Wright had been in a prior relationship with the defendant when she became pregnant. The defendant asked her to terminate the pregnancy and when she declined, he stopped speaking to her. After giving birth, Ebony Wright filed a custody and child support lawsuit against the defendant in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

            After the lawsuit was served against the defendant, he reached out to Ebony Wright to meet his child for the first time. On April 12, 2021, the defendant went over to Ebony Wright’s apartment. Present at the meeting were Ebony Wright, her mother Wanda Wright, her sister, the child, and the defendant.

            After meeting with the family for nearly an hour, the defendant took out a gun and shot Ebony Wright in the head. He then shot Wanda Wright in the back of the head. He then went into the back bedroom, where the sister was located, and shot her once in the face. Prior to leaving the apartment, the defendant lit the custody paperwork on fire in an attempt to kill the child. As he was running out of the apartment, the defendant attempted to remove a Ring camera on the front door and, in doing so, exposed a unique tattoo on his arm.

            As the sister lay wounded in the back bedroom, she heard the child crying in the living room. Despite suffering a gunshot wound to the face, she rescued the child and carried him out of the apartment and called 911.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Korba who investigated and indicted the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Miles Janssen and Emma McArthur who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Kenneth Phillips, 24, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty today by a jury of carjacking and other charges in an evening attack on a district driver that took place in Northeast Washington in November of 2021, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Phillips also was found guilty of robbery, assault, burglary, first degree theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and driving without a permit. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Robert Salerno scheduled sentencing for October 4, 2024. Phillips faces a mandatory minimum of seven years’ incarceration on the charge of carjacking.

            According to the government’s evidence, on November 15, 2021, at approximately 9:00 PM, Phillips was in the 2000 block of fourth street Northeast when he approached the victim from behind, striking him in the back of the head and taking his car and house keys.  Phillips crossed the street with the victim’s keys before returning to the victim, striking the victim in the face and fish-hooking him in the mouth.  Phillips then fled the area in the victim’s Toyota Sienna van.

            On November 16, 2021, at approximately 4:00 AM, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department located the Defendant in the 700 block of K Street NE.  The Defendant was sitting in the driver’s seat of the victim’s Toyota Van wearing a jacket that belonged to one of the victim’s family members.  Police also recovered a key fob and a college graduation ring from the Defendant’s pockets.  The key fob belonged to the victim of the carjacking and the college graduation ring was later determined to have been stolen from the victim’s house.  In the trunk of the victim’s Toyota van, police recovered a television in an unopened box that had been taken from the victim’s home.

            At 7:00 AM on November 16, 2021, the victim’s family reported to police that their home had been burglarized. Specifically, the front and rear doors had been left open and unlocked, interior lights and doors were on, and bedrooms had been ransacked. Several of the belongings reported missing by the victim’s family were found by police on Phillips’s person and in the car he was driving at the time of his arrest.

            Detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department recovered surveillance video from the area around the carjacking that captured the suspect before and during the carjacking. At the time of Phillips’s arrest, he was wearing clothing that matched that worn by the carjacking suspect in the surveillance video.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

            This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney’s Benjamin Helfand and Sara Matar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. 

            WASHINGTON –Tayvon Owens, 31, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to 216 months of incarceration after a jury convicted him in March 2024 of armed carjacking, assault with significant bodily injury while armed, and associated firearms crimes for shooting and carjacking a woman on Newton Street NW, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            According to the evidence presented at trial, in the middle of the afternoon of December 12, 2022, Owens approached the victim, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of her parked car on Newton St NW.  Owens flung the car door open, pointed his firearm at the victim, and ordered her out of the car. The victim started to comply, but then tried to use the car door to shield herself from Owens and the firearm. Owens pivoted around the car door, shot the victim in the knee, and then pulled her out of the car onto the sidewalk before jumping into her car and driving off.

            MPD officers arrived almost immediately, and with the assistance of patrol officers on the ground and MPD’s Falcon helicopter in the sky, MPD tracked Owens through the city to the 1400 block of Bangor St SE. There, Owens jumped out of the victim’s car while it was still moving, causing it to crash into a tree, and stashed his firearm behind a home before being apprehended by MPD officers.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves 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 Daniel Bromwich and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Forgie, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Noah Jackson, 23, a previously convicted felon from Washington, D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 32 months in prison for illegally possessing a Glock 23 .40 semi-automatic handgun that had been converted with a “giggle switch” to fire as a fully automatic weapon. 

            The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves; Special Agent in Charge Craig B. Kailimai of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Jackson pleaded guilty on November 17, 2023, to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. In addition to the prison term, Judge Berman Jackson ordered the defendant to serve three years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on August 17, 2022, Jackson was a passenger in an SUV when the vehicle failed to stop at two consecutive stop signs in Northwest. MPD officers in an unmarked cruiser initiated a traffic stop on the 900 block of Spring Road, NW. Officers conducted a pat down of the two occupants and searched the passenger compartment. Under the passenger’s seat where Jackson had been sitting, police discovered a Glock 23 .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun on the floorboard under the seat. The weapon had a large capacity magazine, one round in the chamber, and 19 rounds in a 22-round capacity magazine. In addition, the firearm had been outfitted with a visible Glock “giggle switch,” which rendered the gun fully automatic. Jackson knew the switch converted the weapon into a machine gun. Jackson previously had rapped about having such a switch in several videos he had posted to YouTube.

            Jackson previously was convicted in April 2018 in D.C. Superior Court on felony charges of assault with significant bodily injury, attempted robbery, and carrying a pistol without a weapon.

            This case was investigated by the MPD and ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.  Attorney Jared English of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and former AUSAs Anna Forgie and Connor Mullin.

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WASHINGTON – Anthony Moffett, 38, of Maryland, was sentenced in D.C. Superior Court on July 23, 2024, to 18 months in prison for felony second-degree theft stemming from events occurring on May 10, 2024. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Moffett pleaded guilty to one count of felony second-degree theft on July 11, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, on May 10, 2024, Moffett stole food items from a CVS.  Moffett had two prior theft convictions and was therefore subject to the enhanced penalties for his theft, including a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison. In addition to the 18 months of prison time, Superior Court Judge Robert Richter ordered Moffett to two years of supervised release.

            At sentencing the Court heard a victim impact statement from a CVS representative, who emphasized that Moffett’s repeated thefts have not only affected the store’s financial performance but have also created an environment of insecurity and demotivation among the stores’ staff members. The CVS representative added that thefts committed by repeat offenders like Moffett have caused several stores within the district to close. This not only deprives community members of access to necessities like prescriptions, but it also deprives the hardworking staff members of their jobs as more and more CVS locations close.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating 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 Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalie Anderson.

            WASHINGTON –Paul Camby, 51, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of assault with a dangerous weapon and other charges, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The verdict was returned in the late afternoon on July 24, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            The Honorable Lynn Leibovitz scheduled sentencing for September 27, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 3, 2024, at approximately 6:00 a.m., Camby, after getting high on cocaine and drinking whiskey, went to his apartment parking garage to drive his car. Camby’s girlfriend got in front of the car to prevent him from driving while intoxicated, because she was concerned for his safety and the safety of the public. Camby drove forward into his girlfriend, which caused her to end up on the hood of the car. Camby proceeded to drive out of the parking garage and continued driving with his girlfriend on the hood of the car for about two blocks on Third Street, Northeast. An eyewitness described Camby trying to swerve the car back and forth in an attempt to throw his girlfriend off the hood of the car, and in so doing, narrowly missed hitting other cars that were parked on both sides of the street. Camby eventually brought the car to a stop, and two eyewitnesses observed Camby striking his girlfriend and intervened until Metropolitan Police officers arrived and placed Camby under arrest. Surveillance video from the parking garage and a 911 call placed by the victim provided corroboration for the offense. 

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Covert and Monisha Rao from the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section.

WASHINGTON – Antoinette Gilmore, 28, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for the October 2023 kidnapping of her roommate, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            A jury convicted Gilmore of kidnapping on May 20, 2024. According to evidence presented at trial, on October 12, 2023, the victim, Michael Brown, got into an argument on the phone with Gilmore. During the argument, the defendant told Mr. Brown she wanted him out of her apartment. They agreed that the defendant would pick up Mr. Brown from downtown and bring him back to her apartment so that he could remove his belongings. Defendant Gilmore and her cousin went to pick up Mr. Brown. Once inside the car, the defendant instructed her cousin to punch and beat Mr. Brown and take his belongings as the defendant drove. Mr. Brown tried to get out of the car, but they locked the doors and trapped him from within.

            At one point, Mr. Brown was able to get the back car door open and escape. At the defendant’s direction, her cousin jumped out and chased Mr. Brown down, eventually catching him and dragging him by the collar of his shirt back into the defendant’s car. Once they reached their destination, Mr. Brown was pulled out of the car where he managed to break free. He ran straight to the Sixth District Police substation where he reported the incident to police.

            In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Errol Arthur ordered five years of supervised release.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted and tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Hanson and Lauren Miller of the Major Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by Paralegal Specialist Crystal Waddy and Supervisory Victim Witness Service Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington.  

WASHINGTON – Tavon Lyles, 34, a convicted felon from Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 90 months in prison, to run consecutive to any other sentence, in connection with dealing crack cocaine inside a variety store to undercover police officers while he was armed with a Glock 22 semi-automatic handgun, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Lyles pleaded guilty on October 11, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, and another count of unlawful possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.

            In addition to the prison term, Judge Carl J. Nichols ordered Lyles to serve three years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on December 14, 2020, about 6:40 p.m., members of MPD Narcotics and Special Investigations Division (NSID) were conducting a buy-bust operation in the 1400 block of North Capitol Street, NW. Undercover officers (UC) approached Lyles inside a Dollar Plus store and asked Lyles if he had change for a $100 dollar bill. Lyles pulled out money to make change and simultaneously pulled out a plastic bag containing several smaller zips containing a white rock-like substance.

            The undercover officers left the store, discussed what they saw, went back, and approached Lyles again. Lyles asked how much cash they had, and the UCs replied that they had $40. Lyles reached into his pants and pulled out two blue zips containing a white rock-like substance and handed them to one of the UCs. The UC handed Lyles two $20 bills of prerecorded currency. The UCs left the store and signaled that the buy was good.

            The arrest team moved in. Lyles struggled briefly with officers as they placed him under arrest. As they attempted to handcuff him, an officer felt a hard object in Lyle’s front waistband which felt like a firearm. The officer asked Lyles if the firearm was loaded, and Lyles confirmed it was. The officers handcuffed Lyles and removed a Glock 22 semi-automatic handgun with a high-capacity magazine from his waistband. 

            From Lyle’s pockets, officers recovered cocaine base (crack) weighing a total of 32.73 grams. In addition, officers recovered $1,071 in cash which included the two $20 bills of MPD pre-recorded currency. Lyles admitted that he knew that he possessed the firearm and ammunition, that the firearm was loaded, and that he knew he had prior felony convictions for which the potential penalty was more than one year of incarceration.

            This case was investigated by the MPD’s Narcotics and Special Investigations Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole.

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WASHINGTON – Jamari Jackson, 19, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for felony strangulation and the attempted kidnapping of a victim in the Washington, D.C. area, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Jackson pleaded guilty on April 10, 2024, to one count of attempted kidnapping, one count of strangulation and one count of simple assault. In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz ordered Jackson to serve three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence regarding the attempted kidnapping and strangulation charges, on July 24, 2023, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Jackson approached the victim as she was walking down the street in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Northwest Washington D.C.  Jackson grabbed the victim by the throat, indicated he had a gun, ordered the victim to “shut up” and follow him, and forced her to walk in the direction of the 3300 block of Holmead Place, NW.  Jackson then held the victim against a car. Fearing for her life, the victim struck the defendant in the face and tried to fight him off while shouting repeatedly for help. Jackson assaulted the victim on her torso and ribs and grabbed her by her throat again, choking her.  After throwing the victim on the ground and continuing to choke her, the defendant attempted to pull off the victim’s pants in an attempt to sexually assault her.  As the victim began to lose consciousness, nearby homeowners came out, and Jackson walked away from the scene.

            According to the government’s evidence regarding the simple assault, on June 20, 2023, while at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., Jackson threatened to throw a cup of urine on hospital staff.  Jackson was then placed in a wheelchair and staff took Jackson over to a different room to be placed in seclusion.  When a staff nurse asked Jackson to return the wheelchair, Jackson, without provocation, punched the victim in face causing him to bleed. 

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Roessler and LaVater Massie-Banks, of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Unit, who investigated and prosecuted the strangulation and attempt kidnapping case; and the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Rana Wahdan, of the General Crimes Section, who investigated and prosecuted the simple assault case.

 

WASHINGTON – Brandon Smith, 38, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for the July 4, 2023, death of 43-year old Charles Stanton, of Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department. In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo ordered five years of supervised release and ordered him to register as a gun offender.

            Smith pleaded guilty to second degree murder while armed on February 4, 2024.  According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 4:28 p.m. on July 4, 2023, police received a 911 call for a shooting in the unit bloc of Patterson Street, Northeast, Washington, D.C. Officers arrived to find Mr. Stanton lying in the street with multiple gunshot wounds to the body. He was unconscious and not breathing. Despite all lifesaving efforts, Mr. Stanton succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 4:40pm. It was later determined he had sustained at least 13 gunshot wounds.

            During the course of the investigation, detectives viewed video surveillance footage from locations near and around the crime scene that captured the defendant’s car­ in the unit block of Patterson Street, NE, prior to the shooting. At the time, the victim was sitting on a bicycle on the north side of the street interacting with someone in another vehicle. The video captured Mr. Stanton riding away from that vehicle and toward the defendant's car. A short time later, the defendant exited his car where he engaged the decedent in a conversation. After a few minutes of conversation, the defendant retrieved a handgun from his pants, moved a few steps toward Mr. Stanton and, as Mr. Stanton attempted to leave on the bicycle, extended his right arm toward Mr. Stanton. The surveillance video captured Mr. Stanton falling from the bicycle, to the ground, and never getting back up. The defendant walked toward Mr. Stanton and continued to shoot the victim who remained helpless and defenseless on the ground. No weapons were found on the decedent’s person or near his body. The defendant then reentered his vehicle and left the scene.

            In reviewing the surveillance video, detectives were able to retrieve the license plate number on the defendant’s car which ultimately led to his identification and arrest.

            This case was investigated by the MPD’s Homicide Branch. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nebiyu Feleke.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced today that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights or District of Columbia charges against a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer for his role in a January 24, 2024, fatal shooting of 41-year-old Clifford Brooks, of Washington, D.C.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the MPD Internal Affairs Division conducted a comprehensive review of the incident.  This included a review of physical evidence, surveillance video footage, body-worn camera footage, audio and visual recordings from an ambulance, witness accounts, autopsy records, and MPD reports.

            The evidence shows that early on the morning of January 24, 2024, an on-duty MPD officer encountered Mr. Brooks outside of a 7-Eleven on Benning Road, Northeast. The officer requested that an MPD Crisis Intervention Officer (CIO) be sent to the scene. MPD Officer Claude Jackson, a trained CIO, arrived at around 6:45 a.m., and observed indicators that Mr. Brooks was experiencing a mental health crisis. Officer Jackson stayed on the scene with Mr. Brooks for roughly an hour before Mr. Brooks ran out of the back of the 7-Eleven.  Officers found Mr. Brooks hiding in a shed behind a nearby home. Officer Jackson requested assistance and assembled officers to extricate Mr. Brooks.  A group of MPD officers removed Mr. Brooks from the shed with minimal force at roughly 8:30 a.m. Mr. Brooks, who remained conscious but largely non-responsive and in an altered mental state, was placed next to a police car.  Firefighters with the District’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department arrived in an ambulance to transport Mr. Brooks for medical attention. 

            The ambulance drove towards the District’s Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Northwest. MPD officers, including Officer Jackson, followed behind the ambulance.  While the ambulance was driving on North Capitol Street, NW, Mr. Brooks, who was not handcuffed, began attacking the firefighter seated in the back of the ambulance with him.  When the ambulance stopped, Mr. Brooks pushed the firefighter out of the ambulance. The trailing MPD officers got out of their cruisers and approached Mr. Brooks.  Mr. Brooks tried to grab the first responding officer’s upper body.  Officer Jackson then approached Mr. Brooks and deployed his Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray.  The spray struck Mr. Brooks but did not debilitate him.  Mr. Brooks then fled into oncoming traffic on North Capitol Street. 

            As he fled, Mr. Brooks pulled at the doors of some of the cars that were slowly driving by.  Officer Jackson and two other officers pursued him on foot.  Mr. Brooks hid under a box truck that was idling in the traffic.  The officers surrounded the truck and ordered the driver not to move and to turn the vehicle off.  After a few moments, Mr. Brooks picked up a metal object that was on the ground next to the truck.  The officers told Mr. Brooks to “drop it.”  Mr. Brooks charged at Officer Jackson with the metal object in his right hand.  Officer Jackson said that Mr. Brooks had a knife and ordered him to “drop it” two more times.  Officer Jackson backtracked with his firearm out.  As Mr. Brooks continued to lunge towards Officer Jackson with the metal object in his hand, Officer Jackson fired his service weapon at Mr. Brooks.  Officer Jackson shot at Mr. Brooks six times.  Mr. Brooks was declared dead on the scene.  An autopsy found that Mr. Brooks had been struck by four bullets, including a fatal shot to the chest.

            After a careful, thorough, and independent review of the evidence, federal prosecutors have found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Jackson is criminally liable for Mr. Brooks’ death.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to investigating allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are investigated fully and completely.  MPD’s Internal Affairs Division investigates all police-involved fatalities in the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Gina Rita Russell, 35, formerly of New York, N.Y., and Los Angeles, California, was sentenced today to 125 months in prison for masterminding an elaborate fraud, extortion, and money laundering scheme, which resulted in a Maryland man embezzling more than $4 million from his Washington, D.C., employer. Russell is the sixth defendant to be sentenced in the case.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.

            In April 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Russell, her ex-common-law husband Robert Evans, his brothers Tony John Evans and Corry Blue Evans, and the brothers’ parents, Archie Kaslov and Candy Evans, all of New York, on various charges related to the scheme. At one point, one of Russell’s coconspirators threatened to harm the Maryland man’s young children.

            According to the government’s evidence, Russell met a New York woman in October 2009 in Manhattan and performed a psychic reading on her. Though Russell had no psychic powers, she convinced the New York woman that she did and told the woman that bad things would happen unless the woman raised large sums of money for Russell and her family. The woman started giving Russell money from her lawful jobs, but then Russell convinced her to lie to her father by claiming she needed money for therapy, extensive sleep studies, and university classes. After giving his daughter enormous sums of money, the New York woman’s father eventually stopped providing her with financial assistance.

            Russell then convinced the woman to earn more money through sex work. The woman advertised sensual massage services online, including Backpage.com. Through one of her ads, she met a Maryland man, who eventually fell in love with and proposed to her, even though he was married and had children. Preying on his affection, Russell and the New York woman conspired with Robert Evans, Tony John Evans, Corry Blue Evans, and Archie Kaslov to extort money and gold bars from the victim. The New York woman told the Maryland man that she owed money to bad people from prior debts and that her life was in danger. As a result, the Maryland man embezzled more than $4 million from his employer between January and March of 2017. As part of the scheme, Russell had Tony John Evans impersonate a mobster during calls with the Maryland man. During one of those calls, Tony John Evans asked if he needed to remind the Maryland man where his children went to school. Russell also dictated threatening texts and provided the New York woman with instructions on what to tell the Maryland man.

            The Maryland man converted embezzled funds to cash and gold bars which he delivered to New York drop-off locations, including a hotel room, believing the funds were going to mobsters. In reality, all of the funds the man embezzled and delivered to New York went to members of the Russell-Evans-Kaslov family.

            In July 2019, Russell pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce by extortion. She was originally scheduled to be sentenced in May 2024, after her five co-defendants were sentenced. However, prior to her sentencing, the government learned that Russell engaged in similar criminal conduct in Los Angeles, convincing a woman there that she had psychic powers, working with the woman to defraud the woman’s father out of money, and persuading the woman to raise funds through sex work. The government brought Russell’s conduct to the attention of U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who promptly issued a warrant for her arrest. Russell was arrested on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, and has been in custody ever since.

            In addition to the prison sentence of 10 years and five months, Judge Chutkan ordered Russell to pay $4,217,542.86 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.         

            Tony John Evans, 35, and Robert Evans, 37, both pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce by extortion and were each sentenced to five years in prison. Corry Blue Evans, 31, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and was sentenced to 41-months in prison. Archie Kaslov, 57, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 30-months in prison. Candy Evans, 55, pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness by corrupt persuasion or misleading conduct and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman and former Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Kent, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diane Lucas, Rick Blaylock, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Arvind Lal and Paralegal Specialist Angela De Falco, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Oliver McDaniel and Melissa Goforth Koenig, who assisted with restraining funds.

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            WASHINGTON –Nashawn Marshall, 27, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of assault with a dangerous weapon and other charges, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The verdict was returned today, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            The Honorable Errol Arthur scheduled sentencing for September 30, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, on February 1, 2024, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Marshall was at his parents’ apartment when he got into an argument with his mother and stepfather. During that argument, Marshall pointed a loaded handgun at his stepfather while threatening to kill him. His parents fled the apartment and his stepfather flagged down a police officer. Marshall was stopped and arrested in a nearby apartment building. A handgun matching the description given by his parents was recovered from a crawl space above where Marshall was stopped. 

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Hyde and Sarah Roessler from the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Unit.

WASHINGTON – Keith Jones, 27, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 74 months in prison for participating in a long-running drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed fentanyl throughout the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.

            Jones pleaded guilty March 19, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols to conspiring to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. At the time of the trafficking offenses, Jones was on supervised probation for a robbery conviction out of Maryland.

            Jones’ plea followed a lengthy investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit (NEU), FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Nichols ordered Jones to serve four years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, the law enforcement partnership identified a crew of young men operating within on the 200 block of K Street, Southwest, with firearms, large amounts of U.S. currency, and illegal narcotics. The members of the group wore matching insignia on clothing printed with “NO RATS ALLOWED” or “N.R.A.” Jones, aka “Chief,” and other members of the N.R.A. crew used several townhouses on the block as stash locations or “trap houses” for narcotics and firearms. Many of Jones’ N.R.A. associates have been arrested and successfully prosecuted for firearms offenses and the possession and distribution of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. 

            From October 2021 to October 2023, Jones relied heavily on social media to both make connections with other drug dealers to conduct sales of illegal substances to individual customers and N.R.A. crew members. On his Instagram account and cell phone, investigators found evidence showing Jones’ trafficking of crack cocaine, promethazine, and wholesale quantities of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and marijuana. Furthermore, the digital evidence showed that Jones was aware that at least some of the counterfeit pills he sold contained fentanyl and was warned by another drug dealer that certain pills he was selling might contain lethal amounts of fentanyl.

            MPD officers arrested Jones on October 28, 2023, following a foot chase, during which he discarded a 40 caliber Smith and Wesson in the lobby of the Capitol Park Plaza Apartments in Washington D.C. That firearm discharged as he tossed it and the bullet struck a glass window in the lobby of the apartment building, narrowly missing two security guards that were feet away from him.

            Jones previously was convicted in January 2020 of a robbery in Prince George’s County for which he was sentenced to 10 years, but the sentence was suspended to all but six days followed by three years of supervised release.  

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, with valuable assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin F. Song.

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WASHINGTON – Eugene Tracy Hill, 31, of Washington D.C., who utilized the street nicknames “Geno,” Cheese,” or “Doe,” pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; conspiracy to use, carry, and possess machine guns in furtherance of drug trafficking, and two counts of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

            The plea was announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves; FBI Special Agent David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division; Special Agent Craig B. Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson set a sentencing date for October 18, 2024.

            According to court documents, Hill, who was a member of the Push Dat Shit (PDS) Street Crew which held territory in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Southeast Washington, D.C., conspired with other crew members to distribute both marijuana and oxycodone within their territory. As part of his plea agreement, Hill admitted to holding a leadership role within the conspiracy, and further admitted that the co-conspirators distributed more than 100 kilograms of marijuana during the course of their conspiracy. For his part, Hill admitted that he sold marijuana and oxycodone in bulk transactions to other drug dealers, and also sold in street level transactions out of “trap houses” maintained by the crew.

            According to court documents, the co-conspirators also conspired to use, carry, and possess firearms to protect themselves, their drugs, their cash, and their territory from rival crews with whom PDS had “beefs.” As part of his plea agreement, Hill admitted that, as part of the conspiracy one of his co-conspirators assembled fully automatic AR-Pistol machineguns which were then distributed within the crew for use in furtherance of their drug trafficking conspiracy. Hill admitted that he purchased and possessed machineguns during his part in the conspiracy.

            Hill was arrested on September 15, 2022, shortly before the FBI executed a search warrant at a “trap house” he and his co-conspirators maintained on Fourth Street, Southeast. FBI agents recovered two Glock handguns, approximately 100 rounds of ammunition, 1.8 pounds of marijuana, two digital scales, a money counter, and approximately $15,000 from that residence.  Hill has been detained since his arrest.

            This case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI and ATF with assistance from both officers and detectives from the MPD as part of a joint investigation which has resulted in the seizure of two vehicles, 13 handguns, five machineguns, and several hundred rounds of ammunition, as well as almost 40 pounds of marijuana, dozens of oxycodone pills, and more than $300,000 in cash. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James B. Nelson and Justin F. Song with valuable assistance from Paralegal Specialists Marissa Mondelli and Melissa Macechko.

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WASHINGTON – Floyd Neal, 31, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to more than 13 years in prison for his role in a rash of 2021 gunpoint robberies of pharmacies in Maryland and Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.

            Neal pleaded guilty on March 18, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to three counts of interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting (also known as Hobbs Act robbery). He also pleaded guilty to using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.

In addition to the 157-month prison term, Judge Berman Jackson ordered Neal to serve five years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on February 14, 2021, Neal and two co-conspirators traveled from the District to a pharmacy in Henrico, Virginia. Neal approached the pharmacy counter, brandished a firearm, and ordered the pharmacist to hand over codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Neal held one employee at gunpoint while a co-conspirator demanded the pharmacist open the prescription safe. After grabbing prescription narcotics and amphetamines, they fled in a red SUV driven by another co-conspirator.

            On March 25, 2021, Neal and a co-conspirator traveled from the District to a pharmacy in Alexandria, Virginia. They entered the store wearing yellow construction vests and posed as customers by grabbing beer. Then the co-conspirator shouted: “Give me all the money,” and indicted that he had a firearm. The men then ordered two employees into the store’s office before taking between $7,000 to $10,000 from the safe. The men fled in a 2005 silver sedan.

            On March 31, 2021, Neal and two co-conspirators drove to a pharmacy in Beltsville, Maryland. A co-conspirator went behind the counter, grabbed a store employee, and demanded the code to the store’s safe. While the robbery was in progress, the store’s manager entered the store. Neal’s co-conspirator forced the store’s manager into the back office where Neal was watching the other employee. The co-conspirator forced the manager to open the safe and then stole the contents. Neal remained at the front of the store to empty the contents of the cash registers. The trio then fled in a dark sedan with silver trim.

            On April 1, 2021, Neal and a co-conspirator traveled to a pharmacy in Manassas, Virginia. One employee locked herself in the back office. Another employee ran to the front where the co-conspirator grabbed them by the neck. Threatening the employees, Neal ordered them to give him “percocets and oxys” or else he would hurt them. Neal also ordered an employee to open the cash registers. Police arrested Neal and the co-conspirator after they fled the pharmacy. A search revealed a loaded 9mm Hipoint C9 firearm in the vicinity of the pharmacy. Each of the pharmacies robbed by Neal is part of a national chain of retailers and the robberies impacted interstate commerce.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force with valuable assistance from local law enforcement in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Gold and Cameron Tepfer of the District of Columbia.

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WASHINGTON – Darren Buchanan, 54, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty yesterday by a Superior Court jury of aggravated assault while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The verdict follows a four-day trial.

            Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe has scheduled sentencing for September 20, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 2, 2019, the victim was riding on a Metrobus on Georgia Ave. NW when he kicked the defendant’s daughter. After the victim got off the bus, the defendant’s daughter called her mother—the defendant’s wife—to tell her about what happened. They all agreed to meet at a nearby establishment. Buchanan and his wife got into a taxi, and while they were on their way to meet their daughter, the defendant noticed an individual who matched the description of his daughter’s attacker. Buchanan exited the taxi, grabbed a large tree branch, and hit the victim with the tree branch multiple times. The victim —who was unarmed—began running from the defendant and eventually entered the market of a gas station located approximately ten minutes away from the location of the initial assault. Buchanan followed the victim for several blocks. As seen on video surveillance, the defendant peered through the window of the gas station market, saw the victim on the ground sweating and talking to himself, and entered. He then kicked the victim once in the chest and stomped on his head seven times. As a result, the victim was rendered unconscious, was transported to the hospital, and has been receiving treatment at a rehabilitation center, since the attack, for injuries related to the traumatic brain injury he suffered. After the defendant assaulted the victim, he boasted about his assault to law enforcement personnel during a police interview. 

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves 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. Attorneys Sabena Auyeung and Matthew Goldstein, who prosecuted the case.

 

WASHINGTON – Ruby Corado, 53, the founder of Casa Ruby, Inc., a Washington D.C.-based non-profit that provided services to the LGBTQ+ community, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to diverting at least $150,000 in taxpayer-backed emergency Covid relief funds to private off-shore bank accounts for her personal use.

            The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office, and District of Columbia Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas.

            Corado was charged by complaint on March 1, 2024, with bank fraud, wire fraud, laundering of monetary instruments, monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, and failure to file a report of foreign bank account.

            Corado pleaded guilty today to a one-count information charging her with wire fraud today before U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who scheduled sentencing for January 10, 2025.

            According to court documents, Corado, on behalf of Casa Ruby, received more than $1.3 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Instead of using the funds as she promised, Corado stole at least $150,000 by transferring the money to bank accounts in El Salvador, which she hid from the IRS. During 2022, when financial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public, Corado sold her home in Prince Georges County and fled to El Salvador. FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Maryland, after she unexpectedly returned to the United States.

            Casa Ruby had claimed to provide housing services for homeless LGBTQ+ youth including transitional housing; to assist LGBTQ+ immigrants and connect them to attorneys; to provide social services such as case management and therapeutic mental health support for survivors of violence, and to assist with a wide array of services such as assisting with passport applications and certain visa applications. The non-profit’s website stated that Casa Ruby employed over 50 people and provided more than 30,000 social and human services to more than 6,000 people each year. At various times, Casa Ruby operated multiple shelters in Washington, D.C., that provided transitional housing.

            Casa Ruby effectively ceased operations in July 2022 when it shuttered its transitional housing, failed to pay its employees, and faced eviction from multiple properties for failure to pay rent.

            Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. Corado’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the D.C. Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Borchert, Madhu Chugh, and Kathryn Rakoczy.

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WASHINGTON – DeCarlos Wilkins, 24, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for distributing PCP, crack cocaine, and marijuana while in possession of a Smith & Wesson M&P .45 caliber handgun, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Wilkins pleaded guilty on March 13, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth to possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. In addition to the five-year prison term, Judge Lamberth ordered Wilson to serve five years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on March 3, 2023, about 6:25 p.m., MPD officers were patrolling on the 1800 block of Benning Road, NE when they observed Wilkins kneeling down weighing an unknown substance on a digital scale. Officers recognized this to be consistent with a drug transaction, i.e. a drug dealer measuring the quantity of a drug immediately prior to a sale. When officers exited their vehicle to investigate, Wilkins fled on foot. Officers found Wilkins hiding in a residential yard in a nearby alley. Police recovered 92 small vials of PCP from Wilkins’ jacket pocket and a Smith & Wesson M&P .45 from inside Wilkins’ pants near his kneecap, underneath a layer of compression shorts. Officers also seized 6.8 ounces of marijuana, 120 grams of cocaine base, and $149 in cash.

            Watkins has three prior convictions involving the distribution of illegal drugs, and three prior convictions involving the use of illegal firearms. At the time of his arrest in March 2023, he was on supervision after the release from a prior firearms offense conviction, he was also awaiting sentencing for attempted possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Schneider.

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WASHINGTON –  Jose “Joe” Biaou, 40, a local businessman and founder of FRB Capital Group LLC (“FRB”), was arrested today on charges he defrauded the Paycheck Protection (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs, announced United States Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS). The indictment, returned on July 16, 2024, was unsealed today and Biaou made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court to face six counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property.

            According to the multi-count indictment, Biaou applied for and received more than $3.5 million in PPP and EIDL loan proceeds on behalf of two businesses he controlled – FRB and Millenium Global Finance. With respect to his applications on behalf of FRB, a loan brokerage firm that connected real estate developers with lenders, Biaou consistently inflated the number of employees the company had, as well as their average monthly salaries and other financial information. The indictment further alleges that Biaou then applied for forgiveness of one of the PPP loans, again, submitting false information about how his business spent the funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the false applications submitted on behalf of FRB, Biaou allegedly submitted fabricated documentation in support of these applications, including fraudulent payroll reports, a fictitious birth certificate, and a forged lease, among other things. 

            With respect to Millenium Global Finance according to the indictment, Biaou applied for and received $1.25 million in PPP funds after representing that Global had 52 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $520,000 throughout 2019.  In reality, Millenium Global was not even in operation at that time.

            If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison for the charged offenses. The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided for informational purposes. The sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the Washington Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Hart.

            An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            WASHINGTON –The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia filed a civil forfeiture action today to recover cryptocurrency seized by the FBI from perpetrators abroad. The cryptocurrency consists of proceeds from crypto confidence schemes, commonly referred to as “pig butchering,” targeting United States citizens through an investment scam. Specifically, the government seeks to forfeit 2,546,415.01 USDT Coin (USDT) seized from two accounts controlled by a perpetrator in Thailand. This cryptocurrency has a current estimated value of approximately $2,546,415.01.

            U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office made the announcement.

            “Our office will find and hold accountable criminal organizations – whether they operate within the United States or outside of if – that use fraudulent investment schemes like ‘pig butchering’ to defraud victims in the U.S.,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “This forfeiture action demonstrates that scammers cannot hide their illegal activity by using cryptocurrency and engaging in complicated transactions: we will find them, seize their illegal proceeds, and get money back to the victims.”

            “The rate at which bad actors are using elaborate pig-butchering scams to defraud innocent people is despicable,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Moy. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners continue to evolve investigative techniques to thwart the progression of this threat and use all available resources to ensure we disrupt and dismantle organizations responsible for contributing to these crimes.”

            In a pig-butchering scheme, scammers obtain funds from victims using fraudulent and manipulative tactics. The scammer establishes a level of trust with a victim in online communications and then entices the victim into investing in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. Often the victim is enticed to make additional payments before realizing they are a victim of fraud. The “butchering” or “slaughtering” of the victim occurs once the victim’s assets, or funds, are stolen by the criminal, or criminals, ultimately causing the victim financial and emotional harm.

            Civil forfeiture allows the United States to seize assets from fugitives and perpetrators abroad. In this case and others, the Department of Justice uses asset forfeiture to punish and deter criminal activity by depriving criminals of property used in or acquired through illegal activities; to promote and enhance cooperation among federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement agencies; and to recover assets that may be used to compensate victims when authorized under federal law. A civil forfeiture action allows third parties to assert claims to property, which must be resolved before the property can be forfeited to the United States and returned to victims. The United States is committed to seizing assets from perpetrators at home and abroad, to holding criminals accountable to the fullest extent of the law, and to making victims whole.

            Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams, and “pig butchering” fraud scams – should contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov.

            The civil forfeiture action is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock, Jr. of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia along with Trial Attorneys Jonas Lerman and Stefanie Schwartz of the Department of Justice Criminal Division Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Paralegal Gina Torres is providing valuable assistance. FBI Boston, FBI San Diego, and FBI Bangkok with cooperation from the Royal Thai Police, are assisting with the case.

            The details contained in the civil forfeiture complaint are allegations, and the United States of America proudly bears the burden of proof.

WASHINGTON – Mercedes Edmonds, aka Marcedes Edmunds, 38, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced today after being found guilty by a jury of aggravated assault while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and additional firearms charges arising from a 2019 shooting in the 4000 block of Hayes Street NE, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On May 14, 2024, Edmonds was also found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a shotgun, and related firearms offenses. Today, Superior Court Judge Andrea Hertzfeld sentenced Edmonds to 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. 

            According to the government’s trial evidence, on May 1, 2019, Edmonds was standing with a group in the 4000 block of Hayes Street NE, and the victim was dropping items off at a nearby apartment. Apparently perceiving disrespect by the victim toward a member of the group, Edmonds retrieved a shotgun from his car and ordered the victim to leave the area. As he tried to leave, the defendant shot the victim twice, striking him in the leg.  The victim suffered substantial blood loss and had to undergo emergency surgery to save his leg.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department who investigated this case. Invaluable assistance was also provided by the United States Marshals Service. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Antoinette Sakamsa; Information Technology Specialist Charlie Bruce; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nomnso Kalu, Randle Wilson, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Raspa, who investigated the case.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Bartz and Lauren Winer, who investigated prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Charles Wesley Monroe, 19, of Washington, D.C., was indicted today by a grand jury on a federal firearms charge stemming from his possession of a loaded firearm in April 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves; Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           The indictment, unsealed today, alleges that on April 29, 2024, Monroe unlawfully possessed a 9mm Smith & Wesson SD9 2.0 semiautomatic pistol and 9mm ammunition, knowing he previously had been convicted in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.

           According to the government’s evidence, on April 29, 2024, MPD officers approached a man in the 1400 block of Girard Street Northwest to investigate an unrelated offense. Monroe, who was standing nearby, broke into unprovoked flight and evaded police. Moments later, officers observed Monroe return to the scene and run under an apartment building stairwell while clutching his waist. Officers apprehended Monroe and located a firearm nearby. The firearm and its magazine were swabbed for DNA and submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for testing and analysis. The results linked both the firearm and magazine to Monroe.

            Monroe was arrested on April 29, 2024, and initially charged by criminal complaint in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He has remained held without bond since his arrest.

            Federal law prohibits Monroe from possessing a firearm and ammunition because, in September 2023, he was convicted in the D.C. Superior Court of robbery, an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Monroe was on probation for that offense at the time of his arrest in this case.

            Monroe faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum potential penalties in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by the Court after considering the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The case was investigated by ATF and MPD as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods.  Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle M. McWaters and Paul V. Courtney, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Augustin Horner.  

             An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and numerous local and federal law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations welcomed about 150 District youths to the 14th Annual “Breaking the Silence on Youth Violence” Youth Summit,” held today at The Catholic University of America’s Przybyla Center.      

            The event focused on a variety of subjects, including opioid abuse prevention, gun violence prevention, and mental health awareness.  A moment of silence was held to remember young victims lost by homicide in 2024. The Summit featured dynamic speakers, entertainment, information, and resources. U.S. Attorney Graves presented the United States Attorney’s Office’s Youth Citizenship Awards to four participants.

            Thousands of the District’s youth have participated in the Summit since the U.S. Attorney’s Office began holding this event. The Summit is a part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood Program, a nationwide effort to reduce violent crime.

            The U.S. Attorney thanks this year’s partners: the East of the River Family Strengthening Collaborative; the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation; The Catholic University of America, including its Department of Public Safety; the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Metro Transit Police Department; the D.C. Housing Police Department; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Housing; and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigation.     

            The event is planned and executed each year by members of the Community Engagement Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Jordan Jones,23, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was sentenced Friday for voluntary manslaughter while armed for the killing of Noel Nicol in Southeast D.C. in October, 2021.  The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Jones pleaded guilty on December 5, 2023, to voluntary manslaughter while armed for the fatal shooting of Nicol, an acquaintance. Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe sentenced Jones to 13 years in prison and five years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, Jones agreed to meet Nicol in Southeast D.C. on October 11, 2021, the day after Jones arranged to purchase a 9mm handgun (the same caliber as murder weapon). Mr. Nicol was last seen by family and friends on the afternoon of October 11, 2021.  The police did not locate Mr. Nicol until three days later when they were investigating an anonymous tip and discovered Mr. Nicol’s body in the in the driver’s seat of a car parked on Savannah Place S.E.. The police could not locate the murder weapon or any eyewitnesses, but detectives obtained surveillance video footage from the vicinity of the vehicle for a 3-day period and developed Jones as a suspect in the murder.  Jones admitted to the police in his post-arrest interview that he was in the car at the time of  the shooting and that he and Nicol struggled over a gun. The medical examiner findings and the physical evidence recovered by the police were consistent with the shots being fired at close range from the passenger side of the vehicle where Jones was sitting.

            This case was investigated by MPD’s Criminal Investigation Division Homicide Branch. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Interrante.

WASHINGTON – Oscar Ramos, 34, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 39.5 years in prison for first degree murder while armed and assault with intent to kill while armed for the May 28, 2015 shooting that killed one many and injured another, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            A jury found Ramos guilty in April of killing 50-year old Pedro Melendez Alvarado and wounding 56-year old Miguel A. Rodriguez Carabantes.  The two men, both of Alexandria, Virginia, were driving to work together when Ramos shot them from his car on I-295.  Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan ordered Ramos to serve 360 months in prison for the first-degree murder conviction and 114 months in prison for assault with intent to kill.

            According to the government’s evidence, Ramos, who is a member of MS-13, was one of three men in a car that was driving on I-295 NB, in Southwest, D.C., near exit 1, when the car he was in pulled alongside the victims’ car.  Two men in the defendant’s car then opened fire on Mr. Alvarado’s car, striking the victims, and then pulled away.

            The defendant was charged in 2021 after evidence was developed identifying him as having plotted to kill Mr. Alvarado.  The defendant and Mr. Alvarado are both from El Salvador.  The defendant believed Mr. Alvarado was somehow involved in the death of the defendant’s father, years earlier, in El Salvador.

            U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from MPD, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. Field Office, the Prince George’s County (Md.) Police Department, the Montgomery County (Md.) Police Department, the Chelsea, Massachusetts Police Department, and the Anne Arundel County (Md.) Fire Department. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Liebman and Jacqueline Yarbro who prosecuted the case at trial.