District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – Duron Hudson, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 102 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter while armed in connection with the killing of a homeless man in Northwest D.C., in November 2019. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Hudson pleaded guilty on December 20, 2023, to involuntary manslaughter while armed, and other felony and misdemeanor charges arising from multiple incidents occurring primarily during a six-week period in 2019, including two others involving serious injuries to the victim. In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt ordered five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s case, on November 29, 2019, at approximately 3:00 a.m., Hudson and his girlfriend were seen arguing while standing near the intersection of 13th and U Street NW. Shortly thereafter Hudson walked across the street in the direction of the Lincoln Theater and approached the victim, Nahzil Zaid Abdul Rahim, a homeless man. After a short conversation, Mr. Rahim walked away from Hudson, in an attempt to distance himself from the defendant. Hudson then began chasing the victim, picked up rocks or a brick-like material and threw it with full force at Mr. Rahim. It missed hitting the victim but Hudson threw another brick which struck Mr. Rahim, who fell down in the street and hit his head on the pavement. While disoriented and lying barely conscious in the street, Mr. Rahim was struck by a car and died from multiple blunt force injuries. The driver of the striking vehicle left the scene.

            Later the same day at approximately 2:30 p.m., Hudson robbed a female victim of her cell phone in the 1500 block of U Street Northwest. Hudson approached the victim, took her cell phone by force, and fled the scene. Mr. Hudson was also involved in incidents on December 9, 2019 and January 11, 2020, where he seriously injured the victims trying to take their property.

            Hudson was initially arrested and detained on January 16, 2020, in connection with the cellphone robbery on December 9, 2019, and an attempt to steal a motorbike on June 26, 2019.  Hudson was 18 years old when the first crime was committed. He was arrested on August 23, 2023, and charged with involuntary manslaughter while armed. He was on release at the time and has been detained since his re-arrest on the manslaughter charge.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from by the Metropolitan Police Department. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney John Interrante.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia testified today at a committee hearing before the Council of the District of Columbia on proposed legislation, Bill 25-0692, addressing the “Enhancing Mental Health Crisis Support and Hospitalization Amendment Act of 2024.”

            USAO-DC strongly supports Bill 25-0692, the “Enhancing Mental Health Crisis Support and Hospitalization Amendment Act of 2024.” This bill will enhance the procedures relating to how the civil and criminal systems address the treatment and commitment of people with mental illnesses, when they are dangerous because of that mental illness. This bill will streamline processes and provide more tools to treatment providers and the courts both to address a person’s mental illness and to protect the community. This bill is a crucial tool that will help to address the overlap between mental health, civil commitment processes, and criminal justice.

            In addition to appearing before the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Elana Suttenberg, Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney, and Jennifer Mika, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Pretrial Mental Health Coordinator, provided written remarks, available in the accompanying attachment .

            Erik Rivera Garcia, 29, of Mexico, and Vladimir Roque Ceron, 33, of El Salvador, were sentenced this week for participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy that sold fentanyl and kilogram quantities of cocaine into the Washington, D.C. area, 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 Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the DEA Washington Division.

            Both Rivera Garcia and Roque Certon were previously charged in a multi-defendant indictment, returned September 1, 2023, alleging a drug conspiracy and various firearms and drug distribution counts.

            Rivera Garcia pleaded guilty on March 13, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Rivera Garcia was sentenced Wednesday to 62 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates, who also ordered him to serve four years of supervised release.

            Roque Ceron pleaded guilty March 5, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine. Judge Bates sentenced Roque Ceron today to 14 months in prison and three v  years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, Rivera Garcia served as armed “protection” for the drug trafficking conspiracy which sold large quantities of cocaine and other drugs in the D.C. region from at least March 2023 to August 8, 2023. On at least two occasions, Rivera Garcia accompanied one or more co-conspirators for cocaine transactions totaling more than four kilograms of cocaine.

            First, on August 8, 2023, Rivera Garcia served as protection for a sale of approximately 515 grams of cocaine. Then, on August 18, 2023, Rivera Garcia arrived in a vehicle with other co-conspirators when they were arrested. Agents recovered from the area where Rivera Garcia was seated a bag containing approximate weight of 3.6 kilograms of cocaine and a.38 caliber revolver, loaded with five .38 caliber rounds in the cylinder. Another co-conspirator in the vehicle was found with a privately manufactured Polymer 80 semiautomatic pistol with a 30-round extended magazine containing 22 rounds of 9mm ammunition with one round in the chamber.

            Meanwhile, Roque Ceron directly sold 197 grams of cocaine and 111 pills containing fentanyl with an aggregate weight of 11.62 grams to confidential sources from March 22, 2023 to June 1, 2023, on five separate occasions. DEA laboratory analysis confirmed that the pills and the powder purchased from Roque Ceron contained fentanyl and cocaine, respectively. All of the pills sold by Roque Ceron were found to contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl (more than 2 mg/per tablet).

            Both Rivera Garcia and Roque Ceron were unlawfully present in the United States during the offenses. 

            This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

            This case was investigated by the DEA’s Washington Field Division and the FBI’s DC Safe Streets Task Force with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy J. Coley and Ernesto J. Alvarado with the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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WASHINGTON – Charles Price, 66, of Lanham, MD was found guilty by a jury on July 8, 2024, of assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The verdict, announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), follows a three-and-a-half-day trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            The Honorable Errol Arthur scheduled sentencing for September 12, 2024. Price faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.

            According to the evidence and testimony presented at trial, on March 30, 2022, the victim was delivering an UberEATS order when he attempted to shift into the left lane but noticed a white Mercedes blocking his attempts to get over. Eventually, the victim was able to shift into the lane and get in front of that vehicle. However, the victim noticed the driver of the white Mercedes, identified as Charles Price, tailgating him, and following him. The victim became afraid and made a U-turn at 3rd and K Street NE to get away from the vehicle driven by the defendant. After making the U-turn, the victim was stopped at a red light when Price walked up to his vehicle and pointed a gun at his head.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shaniqua Butler and Kraig Ahalt.

WASHINGTON – On July 10, 2024, a Superior Court jury returned guilty verdicts for defendants Tyiion Freeman, Koran Jackson and Stephon Nelson on first degree murder while armed, several counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, conspiracy to commit various firearms offenses and other firearms-related charges stemming from the murder of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes on March 1, 2020, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves announced. 

            Between February 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020, the defendants, along with two other defendants (whose cases were severed pre-trial), participated in a conspiracy to illegally possess, carry, and transfer firearms for the purpose of using those firearms in the commission of dangerous and violent crimes. Jackson and Freeman, along with the severed defendants, are members and associates of neighborhood crews. Between 2019-2020, the defendants’ neighborhood crews were feuding with other crews and the feud escalated when Tahlil Byrd, also known as Slatt Goon, was killed in September 2019.

            Stephon Nelson, who is a felon and approximately 10 years older than his coconspirators, supplied the firearms that were illegally possessed, carried, and transferred in the conspiracy. Over the span of nine days, February 22-March 1, 2020, the defendants engaged in a shooting spree in the Petworth, Shaw, and Stronghold neighborhoods using the firearms they illegally acquired and shared as a part of the firearms conspiracy. The first charged shooting occurred on February 22, 2020, in the Petworth neighborhood when two victims were fired upon after a mere verbal exchange with two defendants. Two days later, on February 24, 2020, the conspirators drove through rival crew territory Ninth Street where they shot three rival crew members. An innocent bystander who was sitting in her vehicle was caught in the barrage of gunfire. She fortunately escaped with little physical injury because her front windshield suffered the bulk of the damage. The spree culminated on March 1, 2020, when the defendants participated in two shootings in two separate neighborhoods over the span of ten minutes. At 2:08 p.m., the defendants, who were traveling in a stolen Kia Soul, followed 13-year-old Malachi Lukes, along with his three friends, into the Ninth Street area of the 600 block of S Street, N.W., where two defendants exited the Kia Soul and opened fire on them. Malachi Lukes was shot in the back as he fled. The bullet traveled through his heart and lung causing him to collapse to his death. The defendants then traveled to another neighborhood where members of the rival crew were known to gather and at 2:18 p.m., opened fire on individuals in that block. No injuries were reported in that shooting spree.

            At the conclusion of the trial, jurors returned guilty verdicts against the defendants including the gun supplier who was not present for the homicide.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle Jackson, Tamara Rubb and Nebiyu Feleke for their critical efforts in prosecuting this case. 

WASHINGTON – Several individuals were indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for felony second-degree theft. One other individual was sentenced for felony second-degree theft, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

             A grand jury indicted Mohamed A. Mohamed, 36, Washington, D.C., on July 3, 2024, on one count of felony second-degree theft. Arraignment is scheduled for July 11th.

            A grand jury indicted Deangelo L. Reed, 36, of Washington, D.C., on July 5, 2024, of one count of felony second-degree theft and threats to do bodily harm. Arraignment is scheduled for July 29th.

            A grand jury indicted Richard T. Holmes, 51, of Washington, D.C., on July 3, 2024, on one count of felony second-degree theft. Arraignment is scheduled for July 11th.

            A grand jury indicted Emoni Hubbard, 29, of Washington, D.C., on July 5, 2024, on three counts of felony second-degree theft. Arraignment is scheduled for August 22nd.

            A grand jury indicted Quinton Mercer, 44, of Washington, D.C. on July 3, 2024, on one count of felony second-degree theft. Arraignment is yet to be scheduled.

            A grand jury indicted Meredith Wilson, 51, of Washington, D.C., on July 3, 2024, on one count of felony second-degree theft. Arraignment is yet to be scheduled for August 1st.

            Eugene Fleet, 61, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on July 1, 2024, in D.C. Superior Court, to one year in prison for felony second-degree theft from events occurring on January 12, 2024. According to the government’s evidence, on December 19, 2023, Fleet took a package containing a pair of jeans from a resident’s porch in Northwest, Washington, D.C.  Then, less than a month later, on January 12, 2024, Fleet took a package containing a baby blanket from a resident’s porch in Northwest, Washington, D.C. In doing so, Fleet unlawfully entered areas he was not legally allowed to be in. Fleet had multiple prior theft convictions and was therefore subject to the enhanced penalties for his alleged theft, including a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison. The government had indicted Fleet on February 23, 2024.  Fleet pleaded guilty in both cases on April 29, 2024. The Court imposed the one-year mandatory minimum of each of Fleet’s theft convictions but sentenced him concurrently.

            Since September 1, 2023, including the aforementioned cases, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has indicted 56 cases involving a felony second-degree theft charge based on a defendant’s two or more prior theft convictions, not from the same occasion.

            In announcing the indictments and the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            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 – Jose Angel Gomez, 42, formerly of Washington D.C., was indicted today by a District of Columbia grand jury on numerous counts of first degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances and first degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, for three rapes involving three different victims who were strangers to him, that occurred between July and October 2018, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On July 10, 2024, a District of Columbia grand jury returned an indictment, charging Gomez with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances, five counts of first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, for the attacks on the three victims. If convicted, Gomez faces a maximum penalty of life without release, and would be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his lifetime. Trial is scheduled to begin on September 17, 2024, before the Honorable Anthony Epstein.

            According to court documents, on July 15, 2018, at approximately 2:45 a.m., Gomez knocked on the back door of a home in the 5500 block of 8th St. NW. When the victim emerged, Gomez brandished a knife to her face, forced the victim to the ground and raped her at knifepoint. The victim was able to kick Gomez and escape back inside of her home, where she called 911. The victim sustained a cut to her face and other injuries. Police responded immediately, canvassed for the suspect, and transported the victim to the hospital, where she obtained a sexual assault examination.

            On September 7, 2018, at approximately 11:48 p.m., in the 100 block of Gallatin Street, NE, Gomez raped a second victim at knifepoint, also a stranger to him. This time, Gomez followed a woman from the Ft. Totten Metro, and dragged the victim into a wooded area nearby, where he raped her at knifepoint. Gomez then fled the scene. The victim sustained injures but was able to flag down police. The victim was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where she received a sexual assault examination. 

            On October 21, 2018, at approximately 6:35 a.m., in the 5400 block of 7th Street, NW, Gomez sexually assaulted a third stranger victim. The victim had called for a share ride to take her to work. As she waited at the corner of 7th and Longfellow Street, NW, the defendant approached her and began talking to her. The victim asked Gomez to leave her alone, but he continued trying to have a conversation with her. As she checked on the status of her rideshare vehicle, she started to walk away but Gomez followed her. Gomez grabbed the victim by the throat and dragged her under the porch of a nearby home. Gomez raped the victim under the porch, strangling the victim harder when she attempted to move. When the assault was over, Gomez fled on foot. The victim sustained injuries and immediately returned home and called police, who responded promptly. The victim was transported to the hospital, where she obtained a sexual assault examination.

            By December 2018, all three rape kits had been forensically tested, and the DNA profile of an unknown male had been obtained from the testing of all three kits and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) maintained by the FBI. The cases matched each other but the perpetrator was still unknown.

            Detectives with MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit continued to develop and investigate forensic leads over the next several years in an exhaustive effort to identify the unknown assailant. Once identified, Gomez was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on June 7, 2023 and transported by law enforcement to D.C. Subsequent DNA testing confirmed that Gomez was the rapist in all three cases. He is currently detained pending trial.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, including the Sexual Assault Unit and the Cold Case Unit of the Sexual Assault Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marco Crocetti and Amy Zubrensky.

            This case was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative. In February 2018, the U.S. Attorney created the Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative, designed to work with law enforcement partners to reinvestigate, solve and bring charges in previously-unsolved cases of sexual assault of adults and juveniles. The Cold Case Initiative works with the Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshal’s Service, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the DMV area and nationwide.

            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 – Donnie Wise, 27, a repeat felon from Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for possessing two illegal firearms and distribution quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine at his Southeast apartment, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves; ATF Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives - Washington Division; and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Wise pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss on March 21 to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon and to unlawful possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. In addition to the prison term, Judge Moss ordered Wise to serve three years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on January 18, 2023, at about 6 a.m., members of the MPD’s Violent Crime Suppression Division executed a search warrant at Wise’s apartment on the 1900 block of 18th Street, SE. Law enforcement found Wise sitting inside his bedroom. Once handcuffed, Wise told police he was the only one who resided in the apartment. The kitchen was filled with drug making equipment that included digital scales, baking soda, empty ziplock bags.

            Officers searched Wise’s bedroom and, next to his bed, recovered a Zastava Arms ZPAP92 7.62 x 39mm firearms with 30 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Officers also located a Glock 17, 9 mm pistol in the same room with 26 rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber.

            Police additionally recovered a 50-round magazine containing 15 rounds, a Zigana gun box containing two magazines, 39 rounds of .40 caliber ammo, a baggie containing empty yellow pill capsules, 21 grams of crack cocaine, and 85 grams of powder cocaine on a shelf over a television. DNA linked Wise to the Glock 17.

            This case was conducted under the auspices of Project Safe Neighborhoods and was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Violent Crime Suppression Division in concert with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar.

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WASHINGTON – Raekwon Malik Harrod, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a prison term for fraudulently using the UPS accounts of two American companies to create shipping labels, which he and another conspirator sold online. 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.

            Harrod pleaded guilty on January 5 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Ana C. Reyes ordered that Harrod serve six months and one day in prison and an additional twelve months on home detention. Harrod must serve a total of three years of supervised release and pay $920,000 in restitution. 

            In his plea agreement, Harrod admitted that no later than 2020, Carl Granada Wilson, Jr., a California co-conspirator, gained access to one company’s UPS account and provided Harrod with the account’s log-in credentials. Harrod provided the credentials to a Maryland co-conspirator. Initially, Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator, who both re-sold shoes online, used the account to create UPS shipping labels to mail the shoes that they sold, which reduced their shipping costs to zero. Wilson intended that they use the account in this manner. However, in late 2020, Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator decided to use the account to sell UPS shipping labels to third parties. They advertised the service online and each created thousands of UPS labels using the compromised account. Harrod acknowledged that the fraudulent use of the company’s account caused the company to lose more than $900,000.

            In late July 2021, Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator lost access to the account, prompting them to tell Wilson that they had been selling labels using the account. Wilson requested that they pay him $120,000, which Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator understood would be used to compensate the person who gave Wilson access to the account. However, in reality, Wilson planned to keep all of the money for himself. Thus, in August 2021, Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator withdrew nearly $70,000 in cash and flew with the money to Los Angeles, where they gave the proceeds to Wilson. When they were in California, they withdrew another $50,000 in cash and provided it to Wilson who pocketed all of the money.

            Eventually, Wilson secured access to a second American company’s UPS account, which he provided to Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator. The two men then resumed selling UPS shipping labels online, this time with direct involvement and knowledge of Wilson.

            On June 13, 2024, Wilson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.  His sentencing is scheduled for October 31, 2024, before Judge Reyes.

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman with the assistance of paralegal specialist Sonalika Chaturvedi. Former paralegal specialist Michon Tart and former Financial Analyst Bryan Snitselaar also assisted with the investigation.

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WASHINGTON – Vernon Parrish, 40, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder while armed and related charges stemming from a mid-afternoon shooting on September 26, 2021, outside a home in the 5200 block of E Street Southeast, Washington D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Parrish was found guilty by a jury on July 9, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. The Honorable Anthony Epstein scheduled sentencing for October 11, 2024.

            According to the evidence, Parrish drove to the decedent’s home on September 26, 2021, armed with a firearm, to kill Ronald Bailey because they were both engaged in a romantic relationship with the same woman. Parrish sped into the block of E Street where the decedent lived. After bringing his car to a screeching halt, he got out of the car. Parrish screamed for the decedent and then fired multiple shots into the decedent’s house killing him. Parrish then fled the scene.

            Parrish was arrested on October 6, 2021.  He has been in custody ever 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.  They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the FBI Washington Field Office Cellular Analysis Survey Team. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Kimak and Alec Levy, who investigated, indicted, and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Christopher Norece Mitchell, 26, a three-time convicted felon from Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 84 months in prison in connection with illegally possessing three loaded Glock firearms and distribution quantities of cocaine base, fentanyl, N,N-Dimethylpentylone (also known as “molly”), marijuana, promethazine, and synthetic cannabinoids. At the time of the offense on April 20, 2023, Mitchell was on probation in three Superior Court cases, having been released from a 30-month prison term only three months earlier. Two of his probation cases were for felon-in-possession convictions.

            The sentence was announced by 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).

            Mitchell, 26, pleaded guilty March 6, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a criminal information charging him with a count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and a count of possession with intent to distribute N,N-Dimethylpentylone. In addition to the prison term, the Honorable Jia M. Cobb ordered Mitchell to serve three years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on April 20, 2023, MPD officers approached a group of men who were loitering on private property in the 800 block of 6th Street, NW, in Chinatown. One of the men grabbed a black plastic bag off a fence post and threw it into trash can in front of the officers. Officers recovered the bag, which contained 118 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, empty plastic baggies, and a key fob for an Acura SUV parked on the block. Minutes later, Mitchell approached the officers and requested the fob, which he said was for his mother’s car.

            Given Mitchell’s association with a vehicle whose key was recovered alongside evidence of drug distribution, the officers stopped Mitchell. Mitchell voluntarily consented to a search of his person, which—in addition to a small bag of marijuana he had previously showed the officers—yielded $3,818 in cash, a bag of 24 blue pills marked “M/20,” and a baggie containing about 22 grams of a white crystal-like substance that field-tested positive for amphetamine.

            Officers also saw a loose crystal substance in plain view on the SUV’s driver’s floorboard—which they identified as a controlled substance known as “molly”—and proceeded to search the vehicle. The substance appeared identical to the powder recovered from Mitchell’s person and field-tested positive for amphetamine. During a search of the vehicle, officers recovered additional controlled substances. From the center console, they recovered 145 grams of a white rock-like substance packaged into five baggies. From the rear driver’s side floorboard, they recovered a plastic bag containing 342 grams of suspected synthetic cannabinoids. From the driver’s side door panel, they recovered three digital scales with white residue. From the front passenger’s seat, officers recovered a jacket containing a bottle of suspected promethazine that was approximately 25% full. Some of the drugs recovered on April 20, 2023, were subsequently lab tested by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The substance that field-tested as amphetamine was determined to predominantly be N,N-Dimethylpentylone and cocaine base. The pills were determined to contain fentanyl and acetaminophen.

            The officers also recovered three loaded firearms and ammunition from the vehicle. Mitchell directed the officers to the locations of these firearms. From the glove box, officers recovered a Glock 22, .40 caliber semi-automatic firearm with a 15-round magazine, with one round loaded in the firearm’s chamber and 13 rounds in its magazine. There was also a 31-round magazine loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition. From a backpack in the backseat, the officers recovered two additional firearms: a Glock 22, .40 caliber semi-automatic firearm with 15 rounds loaded into its 22-round magazine; and a Glock 19, 9mm semi-automatic firearm with a 17-round magazine, with one round loaded in the firearm’s chamber and 15 rounds in its magazine. Swabs from the firearms and magazines were submitted to the FBI for DNA testing and analysis. The results tied Mitchell to one of the firearms and two of the magazines.

            Federal law prohibits Mitchell from possessing a firearm because he has three prior convictions in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.

            At the time of the offense, Mitchell was on probation in three Superior Court cases—two involving felon-in-possession convictions and one involving a misdemeanor assault conviction—having been released from a 30-month prison term only three months earlier.  The Honorable Robert A. Salerno has scheduled a probation revocation hearing for July 17, 2024. Upon revocation of probation, Mitchell faces up to 13 additional months in prison.

            The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Metropolitan Police Department as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Valuable assistance was provided by the DEA’s Mid-Atlantic Laboratory and the FBI’s laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Kelley.

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WASHINGTON – Ifediora Oli, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), pled guilty today to conspiring with other public officials to defraud the District of Columbia and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) of money, property, and their employees’ honest services. As a result of the conspiracy, a private company owned and operated by Oli improperly received over $1 million.

            The guilty plea 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, Inspector General Michelle A. Zamarin of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Office of Inspector General, and Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas of the D.C. Office of the Inspector General.

            Oli, 41 of Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money, property, and honest services wire fraud, and one count of falsifying records. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan scheduled sentencing for October 16.

            In related cases, co-defendants Bridgette Crowell and Obinna Ogbu also pleaded guilty to conspiring with Oli to defraud the District and WMATA. 

            According to court documents, during the conspiracy—which was carried out between 2018 and 2023—Oli was employed at USDA while separately acting as the Principal of Highbury Global Group, Inc. (Highbury). Ogbu was employed at WMATA as an information technology (IT) customer support manager who sometimes also served as a WMATA contracting officer’s technical representative (COTR) on certain WMATA contracts.  Crowell was a public employee who managed contracts at the District’s Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) and, before that, WMATA. 

            Beginning in 2018, Oli and Ogbu agreed to use Ogbu’s official position and connection to Crowell to steer funds from WMATA IT-related contracts to Highbury. As part of the conspiracy, Oli and Ogbu agreed to commit bribery. Specifically, Oli and Ogbu agreed that Oli would give Ogbu things of value in exchange for Ogbu misusing his position at WMATA to benefit Oli. By 2023, Oli and Highbury had received nearly $500,000 through this corrupt scheme.

            Crowell also misused her official position at OCP and agreed with Oli to commit bribery as part of the conspiracy. In January 2021, OCP began the process of helping the District’s Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) hire a vendor to provide DFS with COVID-19 testing supplies. In her official capacity at OCP, Crowell managed the contract solicitation, offer, and award. Crowell alerted Oli and Ogbu to the contracting opportunity; provided them with non-public information about the solicitation, including information regarding contract pricing; and steered the contract to Highbury. The District ultimately paid Highbury over $630,000 under the contract. In return, Oli paid Ogbu over $100,000 and instructed Ogbu to give $15,000 of the money in cash to Crowell in exchange for her corrupt acts.

            Oli also pleaded guilty to unlawfully falsifying an annual financial disclosure record related to his USDA employment. As a USDA employee, Oli was required to complete an annual “Confidential Financial Disclosure Report” on a U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) form referred to as the “OGE Form 450.” Oli admitted that he repeatedly falsified his annual OGE Form 450 filings to hinder the USDA’s ability to identify, investigate, and assess his activities with Highbury and any conflict of interests they may have caused.

            The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with the WMATA Office of the Inspector General, and the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Visser of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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            In June of 2023, the District of Columbia experienced 140 carjackings in that month alone. In June of this year (2024), the number of carjackings in the District is 31. That is over 100 fewer carjackings—or a 78% decrease—in June alone compared to last year.

Notable facts from the representative prosecutions below:

• Four D.C. men charged with allegedly carjacking 33 vehicles in the District of Columbia and Maryland during a six-month period, including one case which resulted in a death. Read more.

• 11 juveniles charged as adults under Title 16 for various armed robberies and carjackings.

• Combined local and federal law enforcement approach.

• More than 60 years of total prison time for carjackers.

• Multiple armed carjacking sprees crossing state lines into Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia interrupted and thwarted.

NOTABLE CARJACKING HEADLINES FROM THE USAO

Superior Court Indictments

• Four District Men Indicted on 76 Federal Counts for Armed Carjacking Conspiracy. Read more. Read more.

• Two District Men Indicted for the February Kidnapping and Robbery of a Virginia Man.  Read more.

• Carjacking and Robbery Charges Filed Against Three Men in D.C. Read more.

• Federal Grand Jury Indicts Two D.C. Residents with Kidnapping and Carjacking Charges. Read more.

• District Man Indicted on Armed Carjacking and Other Charges in String of Armed Robberies at Convenience Stores and Gas Stations. Read more.

• D.C. Man Indicted in a Six Count Federal Indictment After Deadly Carjacking Spree. Read more.

Title 16 Charges (Youth Charges as an Adult)

• District Teen Indicted on Multiple Armed Carjacking, Armed Robbery and Related Charges from August 2023 Crime Spree. Read more.

• Three Juveniles Charged as Adults with Armed Carjacking, Armed Robbery, and Related Charges. Read more.

• Teen Indicted on Armed Carjacking and Other Violent Crimes Arising from a Crime Spree in August 2023. Read more.

• Grand Jury Indicts District Teen for Armed Carjacking and Other Offenses. Read more.

• Separate Indictments Charge Multiple Defendants in Armed Carjacking Conspiracies. Read more.

• Seven Teens Indicted for Conspiracy and Three Armed Carjackings. Read more.

Significant Sentences

• Carjacker Sent to Prison for 10 Years. Read more.

• District Man Sentenced to Sixteen Years in Prison for Armed Carjacking at Gas Station. Read more.

• District Man Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Carjacking and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. Read more.

• District Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Two Carjackings. Read more.

Significant Plea & Trail Convictions  

• District Man Pleads Guilty to Carjacking in Northeast. Read more.

• District Man Pleads Guilty in Armed Carjacking Spree. Read more.

• District Man Convicted of Offenses Arising from Violent Armed Carjacking and Shooting. Read more. Read more.

• Jury Finds Maryland Man Guilty of Armed Carjacking of Delivery Driver. Read more.

• District Man Found Guilty of Armed Carjacking of Handyman’s Car, Which He Crashed During a Police Chase. Read more.

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WASHINGTON – Antone Watkins, 29, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a Superior Court jury of armed robbery and other firearm-related offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            The verdict was returned on July 3, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Robert Salerno scheduled sentencing for September 19, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, at around 10:47 p.m., on June 17, 2022, the victim was led into an alley near Howison Place and N Street SW. In that alley, Watkins brandished a firearm and hit the victim across the face with it, chipping his tooth. Watkins and two others then robbed the victim of his cash, chains, watch, and car keys. Video footage showed Watkins running from the alley, getting into the victim’s truck, and driving off. Further video footage showed Watkins only a few minutes later rummaging through the victim’s belongings in the truck. Police arrested Watkins on September 15, 2022. Watkins has been detained since his arrest.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Rubb of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Probation Office from early in the case and through trial. 

            This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Levy and Gregory Evans.

            WASHINGTON –Sean Branch, 31, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree burglary while armed, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and other charges in a morning home invasion and violent assault of a woman and her twelve-year-old son that took place in Southeast Washington D.C. on September 11, 2020, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Branch was also found guilty of three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of second-degree cruelty to children, and two counts of threats to do bodily harm. The verdict was returned on July 3, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Michael O’Keefe presided over the trial. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Branch faces a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment for his offenses.

            According to the government’s evidence, Branch had developed a friendship with the adult victim in the summer of 2020, which led to Branch storing belongings in her apartment. In the days leading up to the offense, Branch and the adult victim argued over whether Branch could continue to store his belongings there. On September 11, 2020, shortly after 8:30 a.m., Branch broke into the apartment of the victims. After breaking into the home through an exterior window, Branch, wearing a ski mask, approached the woman and her child in the living room. He struck the woman in the face with the gun, causing her to bleed extensively, and then dragged them to the back bedroom while repeatedly demanding his belongings. Branch eventually pointed the gun at the child’s head and threatened to kill both victims. Branch then fled the scene. The victims identified the assailant based on the assailant’s voice and the context of the offense.

            Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department recovered surveillance footage showing the assailant fleeing from the ground floor balcony, wearing a ski mask. Officers also recovered a pair of sweatpants and jacket along the defendant’s flight path that was consistent with the assailant’s appearance on video. Branch was eventually linked to the recovered clothing through DNA testing.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle White who indicted the case in 2021.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Covert and Katharine Yaske of the Domestic Violence Unit.

WASHINGTON – A 30-count indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court charging Douglas Edelman, 72, a former defense contractor, and Delphine Le Dain, 58, his wife, with a decades-long scheme to defraud the United States and evade taxes on more than $350 million in income Edelman made as a defense contractor during the United States’ post-9/11 military efforts in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Edelman was arrested today in Ibiza, Spain, based on the U.S. criminal charges. The United States will seek Edelman’s extradition to stand trial in the United States.

            The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia and Acting Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

            According to the indictment, between 2003 and 2020, Edelman allegedly was the 50% owner of Mina Corp. and Red Star Enterprises (Mina/Red Star), a defense contracting business that received more than $7 billion from contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide jet fuel to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Working with Le Dain and several other co-conspirators, Edelman allegedly engaged in a years-long scheme to conceal his profits from Mina/Red Star, including by concealing his income in undisclosed foreign bank accounts, creating false documents, and making false statements that Le Dain who, as a French citizen residing abroad, did not have U.S. tax obligations, founded and owned Mina/Red Star. Le Dain allegedly signed some of false documents, including those that purported to “gift” Edelman money for certain personal expenses.  

            The indictment further alleges that to carry off his scheme, Edelman conveyed this false story of Le Dain’s ownership to various arms of the U.S. government, including to a Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives during a 2010 Congressional investigation, to the Department of Defense during contract negotiations, to the Internal Revenue Service in a 2015 application to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, and to the Department of Justice in a 2018 presentation. 

            Until approximately 2015, Edelman allegedly did not file any U.S. individual tax returns and did not pay any tax on the tens of millions of dollars he was allegedly making each year from Mina/Red Star. In 2015, Edelman allegedly filed false returns for tax years 2007 to 2014 claiming that his business interests, income, and assets belonged to Le Dain. From 2015 to 2020, Edelman allegedly filed false tax returns claiming that his only income was as a consultant, and that he had no interests in any foreign businesses. 

            The indictment further alleges that Edelman directed his profits from Mina/Red Star into banks known at the time to shield account holder identities from U.S. authorities, in countries such as Switzerland, the Bahamas, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.  He allegedly held the accounts in the name of non-U.S. entities created in countries such as Panama, Belize, and the British Virgin Islands. Edelman allegedly always controlled the money in these accounts and used it to fund his other business ventures around the world, including a business selling internet services to U.S. troops and contractors at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan, a Mexican fuel infrastructure project, and a music television franchise in Eastern Europe. Edelman allegedly also used the money to buy a ski chalet in Austria, a house in Spain, a townhouse in London, and multiple yachts—all of which were purchased in the name of nominees.

            Edelman and Le Dain are charged with conspiring to defraud the United States and 15 counts of tax evasion. Edelman also is charged with two counts of making false statements to the United States, and 12 counts of willfully violating his foreign bank account reporting obligations, as part of a pattern of unlawful activity.

            If convicted, Edelman and Le Dain face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy count, as well as five years in federal prison for each tax evasion count. Edelman also faces up to five years in prison for each false statement count and 10 years in federal prison for each count of willfully violating foreign bank account reporting while engaged in a pattern of unlawful activity involving more than $100,000 per year. They each face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            IRS Criminal Investigation and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction are investigating the case, with assistance from His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs of the United Kingdom. Assistance was also provided by the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), which brings together the taxing authorities of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Guardia Civil of Spain provided assistance with Edelman’s arrest.

            This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette Davis, Assistant Chief Sarah Ranney, and Trial Attorney Ezra Spiro of the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold of the District of Columbia.

            An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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WASHINGTON – James Miller, 41, of Virginia, was sentenced today for burglary, simple assault, and destruction of property in a break-in that took place in Northwest Washington in the middle of the night, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On January 10, 2024, a Superior Court jury returned a guilty verdict, following a trial for burglary, simple assault, and destruction of property. Miller was sentenced today by Superior Judge Robert A. Salerno to five years in prison.

            According to the government’s evidence, Miller broke into his pregnant ex-wife’s home by breaking through the front door on September 19, 2023. Immediately upon breaking into her home, the defendant charged at his ex-wife and assaulted her by grabbing her by the throat and throwing her to the ground. After she got back up, the defendant grabbed her by her bathrobe and threw her onto the couch. Both the victim and her 22-year-old-daughter, who was hiding upstairs, called 911. Police arrived quickly at 1:49 a.m. and arrested Miller on scene. 

            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 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Hyde and Matthew Covert of the Domestic Violence unit, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Gianni Saunders, 21, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on July 2, 2024, to 10 years of incarceration followed by five years of supervised release by the Honorable Errol Arthur in Superior Court for the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).    

            Saunders was sentenced for the May 24, 2023, armed carjacking of a handyman who was getting out of his car in the 2800 block of Denver Street SE to do a repair job. Saunders received the benefit of the Youth Rehabilitation Act over the government’s objection.

            Armed carjacking carries a mandatory minimum term of 15 years of incarceration. The Youth Rehabilitation Act allows for judges to sentence beneath mandatory minimum terms.

            A jury in the District of Columbia convicted Saunders of armed carjacking, armed robbery, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence on January 30, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 1:24 pm on May 24, 2023, the victim pulled up to the 2800 block of Denver Street SE to make repairs inside a residential building when Saunders approached him, armed with a gun with an extended magazine, and demanded the victim’s car keys, which were hung around his neck.  Saunders then drove off in the victim’s black Honda Civic, parking the car outside his residence later that afternoon. 

            Two days later, on May 26, 2023, Maryland police officers attempted to pull over the stolen car, which led to a high-speed pursuit that ended when the defendant crashed the stolen car into five other cars on Oxon Hill Road in Maryland. Saunders was pulled out of the driver’s seat. A search of the car recovered a gun with an extended magazine with the defendant’s DNA on it.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. Invaluable assistance was provided by the Forest Heights Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Abu Alawy and Antoinette Sakamsa and Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Renee Prather; Information Technology Specialist William Henderson and Supervisory Information Technology Specialist Stephanie Vice; Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared English, who investigated the case.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Gimenez and Iris McCranie, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Zhong Jie Chen, 47, formerly of Randolph, Maryland, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for misappropriating $354,520 of COVID-19 relief funds that he was supposed to use to operate his restaurants during the pandemic. Chen used the funds to engage in day trading. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division.

            Chen, who now lives in New Jersey, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on February 28, 2024, to wire fraud. In addition to the prison term, the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper ordered Chen to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $369,087 in restitution.

            In court documents, Chen admitted that, while he was a Maryland resident, he was the sole owner of two Shanghai Tokyo Café restaurants, one in the District’s Columbia Heights neighborhood, and the other in College Park, MD. Between May 2020 and July 2021, he applied for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans for the two eateries.

            The Paycheck Protection Program was a COVID-19 pandemic relief program administered by the U.S. government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) that provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses. Once the PPP loan applications were approved, businesses received loan proceeds from third-party lenders. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SBA also offered EIDL loans to certain entities, including small business owners. These loans were provided directly from the SBA and were low-interest, fixed-rate, long term loans. Both PPP loans and EIDL loans could only be used for specified purposes.

            Between May 2020 and July 2021, Chen’s two restaurants received PPP and EIDL loans totaling approximately $964,843. On loan applications, Chen acknowledged understanding how the loans could be used and that if he knowingly used funds for unauthorized purposes, he could be held legally liable by the federal government, and potentially charged with fraud.

            Chen admitted that he falsely certified that all loan proceeds would be used for business-related purposes even though he knew and intended that he would misappropriate some loan proceeds to a personal investment account to allow him to engage in day trading. He admitted that he misappropriated $354,520 of loan proceeds and used those funds to engage in day trading through his Robinhood and TD Ameritrade accounts.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kondi Kleinman and Ryan Sellinger, who were assisted by paralegal specialists Sonalika Chaturvedi and Michon Tart.

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WASHINGTON – James Borum, 21, of Washington, DC, pleaded guilty today to armed carjacking in connection with several armed carjackings that occurred in January of 2021, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Borum pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of armed carjacking. Sentencing is scheduled for August 30, 2024, before Judge Lynn Leibovitz.  Armed carjacking carries a mandatory minimum term of 15 years of incarceration. 

            According to the government’s evidence, on January 12, 2021, just after midnight, Borum and other individuals approached the victim as he was standing in front of his home in Northwest DC. The defendant and his accomplices, at least one of whom was armed with a firearm, pointed a firearm at the victim and demanded the keys to the victim’s car. Borum and his accomplices then took the keys to the victim’s car and fled from the area in that car. 

            At approximately 1:00 a.m., officers with the Metropolitan Police Department observed the victim’s vehicle speeding in the 2600 block of Benning Road, NE.  Police requested air support from MPD’s helicopter, Falcon-1, which tracked the victim’s vehicle, following it to the 3400 block of Rhode Island Avenue. As the victim’s vehicle approached the traffic circle located at 1 Municipal Place in Mount Rainier, Maryland, the vehicle struck a utility pole and flipped upside down. Borum exited and ran from the vehicle before being stopped by MPD officers.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Helfand and Richard Carlton.

WASHINGTON – Jereal J. Booker, 24, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to a federal firearms offense stemming from his possession of a loaded firearm in March 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Booker pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The Honorable Richard J. Leon scheduled sentencing for October 1, 2024.

            According to court papers, on March 21, 2023, an MPD officer observed Booker walking outside a convenience store in a manner that suggested he was carrying a firearm in the front of his pants. An employee of the store then told the officer that he had seen Booker adjusting a firearm in the front of his pants, and he showed the officer surveillance footage that corroborated his account. When the officer attempted to stop Booker in the 4600 block of Livingston Road Southeast, Booker broke into headlong flight. While fleeing the police, Booker discarded the firearm in some bushes before allowing himself to be apprehended. Nearby construction workers who had witnessed the chase alerted the officers to look in the bushes. They did so and recovered a .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun loaded with one chambered round and ten rounds in its magazine.  DNA testing later linked the firearm to Booker.

            Booker was arrested on March 21, 2023, and remains detained pending sentencing.

            Federal law prohibits Booker from possessing a firearm because he has previously been convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, including a 2023 conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and a 2021 conviction for attempted carjacking in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. Booker was on probation for both convictions at the time of this offense.

            Booker faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by the court after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney.

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WASHINGTON – Kevon Lockerman, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to seven years in prison in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for armed robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Lockman was found guilty on April 5, 2024, of armed robbery with a knife, following a jury trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Erik Christian ordered Lockerman to serve five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 15, 2023, the defendant and another man, who was never identified, went into a smoke shop on West Virginia Avenue NE and tried to set up their own business inside, with a scale, a knife, and product they offered for sale. The store’s surveillance footage showed that when the complainant walked in, the defendant and his accomplice try to sell the complainant marijuana without success. The defendant handed a knife to his accomplice as the complainant spoke to the store’s clerk. When the complainant turned to leave the shop, the defendant and his accomplice blocked the complainant’s path. The accomplice gestured toward the knife, which he had tucked in the front of his pants, and the complainant handed the defendant cash. After the two men left together, the complainant turned to the store clerk with tears in his eyes and told him he had been robbed. Police arrested the defendant roughly three weeks later near the same smoke shop.

            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 acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Abubakar Alawy and Antoinette Sakamsa and Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Renee Prather; Supervisory IT Specialist Leif Hickling; and Investigative Analyst Stephen Jones.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Iris McCranie, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Van Haasteren and Matthew Goldstein, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Marcus Bias, 28, a former District Department of Corrections Officer, was sentenced today in federal court to 42 months in prison for seriously injuring a handcuffed detainee who was not resisting, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

             Bias pleaded guilty on March 29, 2024, to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Bias to serve two years of supervised release.

             “Like any other law enforcement officer, the defendant had a duty to protect the constitutional rights of anyone who was in his care and custody,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “The defendant ignored that responsibility, when he assaulted and seriously injured an inmate who posed no threat.  Such assaults are civil rights violations that will be prosecuted.”

             “This defendant is being held accountable for violently rammed an inmate’s head into a metal doorframe while the victim was handcuffed behind his back and posed no threat,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney General Clarke “The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute unlawful assaults on vulnerable populations and will stand up for the civil rights of the victims of these crimes.”

             “Today, Marcus Bias was sentenced for violently injuring an inmate and violating their civil rights,” said David J. Scott, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division. “The FBI is charged with investigating those who violate a person’s civil rights, and it’s a responsibility the FBI takes very seriously. I would like to thank our partners who worked side-by-side with the FBI on this investigation in order to hold Marcus Bias accountable for his criminal actions.”

             According to court documents, Bias, intentionally and without provocation, pushed a detainee’s head into a metal doorframe while escorting him from DOC’s dining hall to the medical unit June 12, 2019, causing significant injuries. At the time, the detainee, J.W., had his hands handcuffed behind his back and was suffering from the effects of O.C. spray. J.W. also was surrounded by five other officers and was not resisting. J.W.’s injuries required emergency medical attention at a hospital. After slamming J.W.’s forehead into the corner of the metal doorframe, Bias falsely claimed in an official DOC report that J.W. “pull[ed] away” and “fell” into the doorframe. Bias’s statement was contradicted by DOC surveillance video. Disturbed by what they saw on the video and recognizing that that Bias used deadly force when no force was needed or permitted, DOC officials fired Bias and escorted him out of the facility.

             The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Truscott for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Anna Gotfryd and former Trial Attorney Rebekah Bailey of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

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A former District of Columbia Department of Corrections Officer, Marcus Bias, 28, was sentenced today to 42 months in prison followed by 24 months of supervised release for one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting a handcuffed inmate. Bias previously pleaded guilty in March.

“This defendant had a duty to treat people in his custody humanely,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant is being held accountable for violently ramming an inmate’s head into a metal doorframe while the victim was handcuffed, surrounded by six officers and posed no threat. The Justice Department will vigorously investigate and prosecute such excessive force against prisoners and will insist that corrections officers respect the civil and constitutional rights of those entrusted to their care.” 

“Like any other law enforcement officer, the defendant had a duty to protect the constitutional rights of anyone who was in his care and custody,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The defendant ignored that responsibility, when he assaulted and seriously injured an inmate who posed no threat.  Such assaults are civil rights violations that will be prosecuted.”

“Today, Marcus Bias was sentenced for violently injuring an inmate and violating their civil rights,” said Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division. “The FBI is charged with investigating those who violate a person’s civil rights, and it’s a responsibility the FBI takes very seriously. I would like to thank our partners who worked side-by-side with the FBI on this investigation in order to hold Marcus Bias accountable for his criminal actions.”

According to court documents, Bias, intentionally and without provocation, pushed a detainee’s head into a metal doorframe while escorting him within the Department of Corrections on June 12, 2019, causing significant injuries. At the time, the detainee, J.W., had his hands handcuffed behind his back, was suffering from the effects of O.C. spray, was surrounded by five other officers and was not resisting. J.W.’s injuries required emergency medical attention at a hospital.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Anna Gotfryd of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Truscott for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case. 

            The following data points are made available in order to provide context with respect to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Fischer v. United States.

• The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has charged roughly 1,427 individuals with federal crimes arising from alleged criminal conduct committed at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. In more than 82 percent of those cases—involving approximately 1,178 individuals—the defendants were either never charged with or not convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2), the statute at issue in Fischer.  Today’s decision has no bearing on those cases.
• Of the approximately 249 remaining cases, there are zero cases where a defendant was charged only with 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). In other words, in every case potentially impacted by the Fischer decision, the defendant faced other criminal charges—felonies, misdemeanors, or both—for illegal conduct related to the Capitol Breach.
• Today’s decision will most significantly impact a narrow band of cases: those where the only felony for which a defendant was convicted and sentenced was 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2).  In total, approximately 52 individuals have been convicted and sentenced on that charge and no other felony; of those individuals, only 27 are currently serving a sentence of incarceration—less than 2 percent of all charged cases arising from the Capitol Breach.   

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WASHINGTON – Ivan Dixon, 19, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today for the September 2023 shooting of two victims outside a local supermarket in Northeast Washington, DC, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Pamela A. Smith, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department. 

         In March 2024, Mr. Dixon pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of Assault with Intent to Kill and one count of Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, in addition to one count of Carrying a Pistol Without a License in an unrelated case.  Mr. Dixon was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert Okun to 84 months’ incarceration, the top of Mr. Dixon’s voluntary sentencing guidelines for assault with intent to kill.  Mr. Dixon’s period of imprisonment will be followed by 3 years of supervised release.

         According to the government’s evidence, with which Mr. Dixon agreed, Mr. Dixon was riding in a Ford Transit van when one of the victims, his intended target, parked his car outside of the supermarket.  As the intended target walked into the supermarket, the van made a U-turn and drove slowly past the building, ultimately circling the block before parking behind the intended target’s car.  After a few minutes, the intended target left the supermarket while the second victim, an innocent bystander, approached the front door.  As the intended target held the door open for the innocent bystander, Mr. Dixon jumped out of the van and fired 16 shots in the direction of the intended target.  While the intended target was not hit, the innocent bystander was hit five times and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

         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 William Lawrence, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Beysean Jones, 29, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a Superior Court jury for the July 2022 deadly shooting of Ronald Brown, 19, and Tijuan Wilson, 41, in Southeast Washington, D.C. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            When the jury returned their verdict on June 26, 2024, Jones was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder while armed, one count of assault with intent to kill and related charges. He was also found guilty of various firearms related charges. The jury returned a verdict after less than a day of deliberations following a two-week trial before Superior Court Judge Michael K. O’Keefe. Sentencing is scheduled for September 20, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence presented at trial, on July 22, 2022, surveillance video captured an argument between Ronald Brown and Beysean Jones at the SC Discount Tobacco and Grocery store on South Capitol St. SW on the Maryland border. Shortly thereafter, shots fired from Brown’s vehicle struck Jones’ vehicle and Jones returned fire in the 4000 block of Livingston Rd. SE. A civilian witness who associated with Jones in the drug trade called in a tip, and provided testimony at trial, about texts he received from Jones about the shooting on the 22nd and statements and actions Jones made in preparation for retaliating against Brown, including putting a $30,000 bounty on the person who shot him.

            Just five days later, surveillance video captured a vehicle follow Ronald Brown’s vehicle from a nearby apartment and then that same tobacco store for several minutes, eventually into a residential parking lot surrounded by apartments in the 4300 block of 4th St. SE. That vehicle backed into a parking space several spaces down from Brown’s vehicle and at least two shooters opened fire with both .40 caliber and rifle rounds, firing over 60 rounds in the direction of Brown. This barrage of fire killed Tijuan Wilson and badly injured his partner of over 18 years, though luckily their children, who were outside at the time, were unharmed. Others in the parking lot returned fire. Multiple vehicles and residential buildings were damaged by gunfire.

            Casings left behind on July 27, 2022, near the suspect vehicle were ballistically linked to the casings Jones fired at Brown on July 22, 2022.

            Jones was arrested on November 1, 2022, and has been in custody since that time. The government’s evidence at trial included witness testimony, video surveillance, cell site records, ShotSpotter audio, body worn camera footage, ballistics evidence, and DNA evidence.

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

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Antonelli and Zach Horton.

WASHINGTON – Members of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, today, heard presentations and had discussions with U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis at a panel focused on promoting the health, safety, and civil liberty of tenants living in HUD-assisted housing. The program focused on eliminating environmental hazards and combatting sexual misconduct in HUD-assisted housing. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and Office of Environmental Justice also presented on related topics, including the development of a Department-wide environmental justice strategic plan.

            The panel, which took place at the monthly meeting of the Anacostia Coordinating Council at Martha’s Table in the Seventh Metropolitan Police Department District, was part of the HUD Inspector General’s initiatives promoting safe housing strategies related to environmental justice, and how to recognize and report sexual misconduct in housing.

            Attendees included members and leadership of communities east of the Anacostia River who might be impacted by environmental injustices, such as lead paint in their homes, or become victims of sexual harassment in housing by their landlords, property managers, maintenance staff, or other housing personnel in positions of authority. Members of the public were encouraged to share their experiences, concerns, and expertise to build future partnerships and provide aid and assistance to beneficiaries when reporting matters related health, safety, or security in housing.

            “No one should be subjected to unsafe conditions or harassment in order to have a roof over their head,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “The residents of D.C. have a right to feel safe in their homes, to have their rights respected by their landlords, and to not have to worry that they and their families will be harmed by environmental hazards. The affirmative civil rights and environmental justice team in this Office is working, daily, to prevent, correct, and prosecute those cases that violate HUD’s housing assistance program guidelines. Today’s safe housing panel, we hope, will arm residents with the information they need to ensure their rights are protected. You have a right to feel safe in your home.”

            “I am grateful for the opportunity afforded us by the Anacostia Coordinating Council to directly engage community members about HUD OIG’s initiatives in pursuit of environmental justice violations and combatting sexual misconduct in housing,” said Inspector General Oliver Davis. “We remain committed to working closely with our partners at the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to raise awareness about violations of federal law in these areas and pursue bad actors who victimize vulnerable people receiving HUD assistance.”

            If you have or someone you know has information about environmental hazards and unsafe unit conditions in HUD-assisted housing or you have or someone you know has been a victim of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or sexual exploitation—even if the events occurred years ago—report it to the HUD Office of Inspector General Hotline at 1-800-347-3735 or visit the website at www.hudoig.gov/hotline.  You may also file a complaint with HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at https://www.hud.gov/fairhousing/fileacomplaint.  

            You may also contact the U.S. Department of Justice at 1-844-380-6178 or visit www.civilrights.justice.gov.  Individuals who believe they may have been victims of environmental injustices or housing discrimination may also contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (202) 252-2500, [email protected] or https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/affirmative-civil-rights-and-environmental-justice.

            For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc and https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/programs/community-prosecution/community-engagements.

Joly Germine, 31, of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, was sentenced today to 420 months in prison for his role in a gunrunning conspiracy that smuggled firearms to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws, and the laundering of ransoms paid for U.S. hostages held by the notoriously violent Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo. Eliande Tunis, 46, of Pompano Beach, Florida, who styled herself as Germine’s “wife” and was described at trial as the “Queen” of 400 Mawozo, was sentenced on June 5, to 150 months in prison for her role in the conspiracy. Two other defendants in the conspiracy were also sentenced to jail time for their involvement.

The conspiracy resulted in the purchase in the United States of at least 24 firearms, including weapons designed for the military and close-quarters combat such as AK-47s, AR-15s, an M4 Carbine rifle, an M1A rifle, and a .50 caliber rifle, which were smuggled from the United States to the gang in Haiti to further their criminal activities. Those firearms were bought using funds laundered from the proceeds of the hostage taking for ransom of U.S. citizens in Haiti in 2021.

“A leader of the Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo will now spend 35 years in prison for a scheme to smuggle guns from the United States to Haiti using the proceeds extorted from kidnapping American citizens,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The leaders of violent gangs in Haiti that terrorize Americans citizens in order to fuel their criminal activity will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”

“Joly Germine is being held accountable for his role in smuggling weapons into Haiti using funds laundered from the ransoms of kidnapped American citizens,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The 400 Mawazo gang not only wreaks havoc in its own communities but targets innocent Americans living and traveling in Haiti. The FBI will continue to work with our partners to target the leadership and take down any violent criminal group who preys upon Americans abroad and uses unlawful and dangerous tactics like weapons-trafficking and kidnapping to further their criminal enterprise.”

“Firearms smuggling is not a victimless crime,” said Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “Just like these weapons, many guns smuggled to Haiti end up in the hands of violent gangs. Those gangs use them to harm both Haitians and American citizens. As this sentence demonstrates, ATF is committed to working with our law enforcement partners both at home and internationally to hold gun smugglers responsible.” 

“Mr. Germine, a leader of a notorious Haitian gang, admitted to an illegal gun-running scheme to arm fellow gang members with U.S. firearms in support of the group’s violent crime spree across Haiti, including the alleged 2021 kidnapping of 16 U.S. citizens,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will aggressively pursue every tool at its disposal to hold accountable those who would smuggle U.S.-origin weapons and other controlled goods for the benefit of malicious actors and their criminal enterprises.”

“Violent gangs have ravaged Haiti, and all too often, Americans in Haiti have been targets of their violence,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “These two defendants not only helped lead a prominent violent gang in Haiti, but they were also intimately involved in arming the gang and laundering ransom proceeds the gang obtained from kidnapping Americans. Preventing them from illegally shipping anymore firearms or laundering the proceeds of kidnappings strikes a critical blow against the gang they once led.”

“As Joly Germine and Eliande Tunis have just learned, the FBI is dedicated to disrupting and dismantling gangs who undertake hostage-taking of U.S. Citizens anywhere,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office.  “This includes taking away their ability to wreak violence on the innocent using smuggled firearms.”

“Today’s sentencing sends a strong message: the Diplomatic Security Service is committed to making sure that those who commit transnational crimes face consequences for their criminal actions,” said Assistant Director Paul Houston of the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) for Threat Investigations and Analysis. “DSS’ strong relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies around the world continues to be essential in the pursuit of justice.”

According to court documents, Germine, pleaded guilty on Jan. 31, to the 48-count second superseding indictment, which charged him with conspiring to violate U.S. export control laws and to defraud the United States, violating export control laws, smuggling, and laundering the proceeds of ransoms paid to free U.S. hostages taken by the gang and laundering money to promote his crimes. Germine’s plea came at the end of the government’s case at trial, which included the testimony of 24 witnesses and two weeks of evidence.

Germine’s co-defendant Tunis, who had a supervisory role in the conspiracy, pleaded guilty on the eve of trial on Jan. 17, to the same 48-count indictment, and was sentenced on June 5 to 150 months in prison. Other co-defendants, Jocelyn Dor, 31, and Walder St. Louis, 35, who acted as a straw gun purchasers for Germine and Tunis, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 60 months and 36 months, respectively, for their roles in the gun-smuggling and money laundering scheme.

According to evidence presented at trial, from at least March through November 2021, Germine, Tunis, and two co-defendants conspired with each other and with other gang members in Haiti to acquire and supply firearms to the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti. Germine directed the gang’s operations from a Haitian prison using unmonitored cell phones, including directing gang members in Haiti to transfer money to Tunis and others in the United States for the purpose of obtaining firearms for the gang. Germine then provided Tunis and the two other U.S.-based co-defendants, all Florida residents, specifications for firearms and ammunition that Germine and other gang leaders wanted sent to Haiti. Tunis and the two co-defendants then purchased at least 24 rifles, handguns, and a shotgun at Florida gun shops while falsely stating that they were the “actual buyers” of the firearms, when they were in fact acting as straw purchasers for Germine. In approximately May 2021, Tunis smuggled firearms and ammunition to Haiti in containers disguised as food and household goods. In October 2021, Tunis attempted to ship additional firearms and ammunition to Haiti, again by smuggling the firearms, but those firearms were seized by the FBI before they left the United States.

400 Mawozo is a violent Haitian gang that operated in the Croix-des-Bouquets area to the east of the capital, Port-au-Prince. From at least Jan. 12, 2020, 400 Mawozo was engaged in armed hostage takings of U.S. citizens in Haiti for ransom. The victims have generally been forced from their vehicles at gunpoint and kept in various locations by armed gang members while their relatives and colleagues negotiate payment for their release. At trial, the government presented evidence that the gang received ransom payments from the hostage taking of three U.S. citizens in the summer of 2021, who testified at trial, and the cash ransom proceeds were commingled with the gang’s funds and transferred via MoneyGram and Western Union from the United States to Haiti to buy more firearms.

In the fall of 2021, the 400 Mawozo gang claimed responsibility for taking 16 U.S. citizens hostage, including five children, and one Canadian citizen who were part of a missionary organization visiting an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The gang demanded a ransom of $1 million for each hostage. The hostages were all released or had escaped by on or about Dec. 16, 2021. While Germine has been charged in a separate indictment in relation to that hostage-taking incident, today’s sentencing does not address those charges, which are lodged in case number 22-cr-161 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the ATF and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement.

Valuable assistance was provided by the government of Haiti, particularly the Haitian National Police, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Special Prosecutions Section.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Kimberly Paschall for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Beau Barnes of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Joly Germine, 31, of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for his role in a gunrunning conspiracy that smuggled firearms to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws, and the laundering of ransoms paid for U.S. hostages held by the notoriously violent Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo. Eliande Tunis, 46, of Pompano Beach, Florida, who styled herself as Germine’s “wife” and was described at trial as the “Queen” of 400 Mawozo, was sentenced on June 5, 2024, to 150 months in prison for her role in the conspiracy. Two other defendants in the conspiracy were also sentenced to jail time for their involvement.

            The sentencings were announced by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office.

            The conspiracy resulted in the purchase in the United States of at least 24 firearms, including weapons designed for the military and close-quarters combat such as AK-47s, AR-15s, an M4 Carbine rifle, an M1A rifle, and a .50 caliber rifle, which were smuggled from the United States to the gang in Haiti to further their criminal activities. Those firearms were bought using funds laundered from the proceeds of the hostage taking for ransom of U.S. citizens in Haiti in 2021.

            “A leader of the Haitian gang known as 400 Mawozo will now spend 35 years in prison for a scheme to smuggle guns from the United States to Haiti using the proceeds extorted from kidnapping American citizens,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The leaders of violent gangs in Haiti that terrorize Americans citizens in order to fuel their criminal activity will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”

            “All too often, Americans in Haiti have been targets of gang violence,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “These two defendants not only helped lead a prominent violent gang in Haiti, but they were also intimately involved in arming the gang and laundering ransom proceeds the gang obtained from kidnapping Americans. These sentences send a message that those who engage in such violence against Americans, and who arm and launder money on behalf of these violent gangs, will pay a heavy price.”

            “As Joly Germine and Eliande Tunis have just learned, the FBI is dedicated to disrupting and dismantling gangs who undertake hostage-taking of U.S. Citizens anywhere,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office.  “This includes taking away their ability to wreak violence on the innocent using smuggled firearms.”

            Germine, a Haitian national, pleaded guilty on January 31, 2024, to the 48-count second superseding indictment, which charged him with conspiring to violate U.S. export control laws and to defraud the United States, violating export control laws, smuggling, and laundering the proceeds of ransoms paid to free U.S. hostages taken by the gang and laundering money to promote his crimes. Germine’s plea came at the end of the government’s case at trial, which included the testimony of 24 witnesses and two weeks of evidence.

            Germine’s co-defendant Tunis, who had a supervisory role in the conspiracy, pleaded guilty on the eve of trial on January 17, 2024, to the same 48-count indictment, and was sentenced on June 5 to 150 months in prison. Other co-defendants, Jocelyn Dor, 31, and Walder St. Louis, 35, who acted as a straw gun purchasers for Germine and Tunis, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 60 months and 36 months, respectively, for their roles in the gun-smuggling and money laundering scheme.

            According to evidence presented at trial, from at least March through November 2021, Germine, Tunis, and two co-defendants conspired with each other and with other gang members in Haiti to acquire and supply firearms to the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti. Germine directed the gang’s operations from a Haitian prison using unmonitored cell phones, including directing gang members in Haiti to transfer money to Tunis and others in the United States for the purpose of obtaining firearms for the gang. Germine then provided Tunis and the two other U.S.-based co-defendants, all Florida residents, specifications for firearms and ammunition that Germine and other gang leaders wanted sent to Haiti. Tunis and the two co-defendants then purchased at least 24 rifles, handguns, and a shotgun at Florida gun shops while falsely stating that they were the “actual buyers” of the firearms, when they were in fact acting as straw purchasers for Germine. 

            In May 2021, Tunis smuggled firearms and ammunition to Haiti in containers disguised as food and household goods. In October 2021, Tunis attempted to ship additional firearms and ammunition to Haiti, again by smuggling the firearms, but those firearms were seized by the FBI before they left the United States.

            400 Mawozo is a violent Haitian gang that operated in the Croix-des-Bouquets area to the east of the capital, Port-au-Prince. From at least January 12, 2020, 400 Mawozo was engaged in armed hostage takings of U.S. citizens in Haiti for ransom. The victims generally had been forced from their vehicles at gunpoint and kept in various locations by armed gang members while their relatives and colleagues negotiated payment for their release. At trial, the government presented evidence that the gang received ransom payments from the hostage taking of three U.S. citizens in the summer of 2021, who testified at trial, and the cash ransom proceeds were commingled with the gang’s funds and transferred via MoneyGram and Western Union from the United States to Haiti to buy more firearms.

            In the fall of 2021, the 400 Mawozo gang claimed responsibility for taking 16 U.S. citizens hostage, including five children, and one Canadian citizen who were part of a missionary organization visiting an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The gang demanded a ransom of $1 million for each hostage. The hostages were all released or had escaped by December 16, 2021. While Germine has been charged in a separate indictment in relation to that hostage-taking incident, today’s sentencing does not address those charges, which are lodged in case number 22cr161 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

            The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the government of Haiti, particularly the Haitian National Police, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Special Prosecutions Section.

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Kimberly Paschall and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Beau Barnes of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

21cr699

WASHINGTON – Joseph Ruben Baer, 20, of Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a federal child pornography charge stemming from his distribution of child pornography to an undercover law enforcement agent in April 2024, 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).

                Baer pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of possession of child pornography.  The Honorable Loren L. AliKhan scheduled sentencing for September 23, 2024.

            According to plea documents, in early 2024, a member of the FBI–MPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force was monitoring an online dating application in an undercover capacity. Law enforcement had learned that the application is sometimes used by individuals who have a sexual interest in children. The undercover agent encountered Baer, who sent a message believing he was communicating with a pedophile. Baer expressed an interest in child pornography and later sent the undercover agent two video files via an encrypted messaging application. Those video files depicted Baer masturbating while watching child pornography on a laptop computer. Baer was arrested in the District of Columbia on May 10, 2024. Law enforcement subsequently recovered seven child pornography videos from Baer’s iPhone, which included the two video files he had earlier distributed to the undercover agent. The videos depict the sexual abuse of infant and prepubescent children.

            Baer has remained in custody since his May 10, 2024, arrest.

            Baer faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, Baer must pay mandatory restitution of at least $3,000 to any identified victim. The statutory sentences for federal offenses are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only. 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

            This case was 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 U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the U.S. Marshals Service. 

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney.

24cr202

WASHINGTON – Anthony Lewis, 25, of Washington D.C., was sentenced on Friday, June 21, 2024, to 135 months in prison for the killing of 19-year-old Cameron Clemons in May 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Lewis has been in custody since his arrest on November 20, 2022. In January of 2024, he entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter while armed.  The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon prison sentence of 135 months, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The Honorable Robert Okun accepted the plea today and sentenced the defendant accordingly. The judge denied the defense’s request for a Youth Act sentence.

            According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, at around 10pm on May 28, 2022, Lewis was walking in the 600 block of Otis Place NW, when he stopped and exchanged words with a group of people on the opposite (north) side of the street, one of whom he had previously fought with. During the exchange, Lewis pulled out a firearm and fired multiple shots at another individual as that person walked toward him. Multiple individuals from the group fired back at Lewis as he ran from the scene. During the exchange of gunfire, Cameron Clemons, who had been standing on the south side of the street, was struck by a bullet. He was driven to an area hospital and treated for his injuries, but on June 4, 2022, while still at the hospital, he died from complications of the gunshot wound.

            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 acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Stephanie Gilbert and Lisa Minott, and Victim/Witness Advocate Karina Hernandez.

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

WASHINGTON – Derricka Burton, 20, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a Superior Court jury of a Christmas Day robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            The verdict was returned on June 20, 2024, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  The Honorable Robert Salerno scheduled sentencing for August 23, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, at around 2:38 p.m. on December 25, 2023, Burton and three co-conspirators saw the victims, a couple spending time together at the Alethia Tanner Park, located at 227 Harry Thomas Way Northeast. Video footage showed Burton and her co-conspirators huddle together before two of her co-conspirators walked up to the victims and robbed them. Burton’s co-conspirators pointed a gun at the victims and demanded the victims’ Canada Goose brand jacket, cellphone, and other items. The co-conspirators then walked back to Burton and the other co-conspirators. The group conferred with each other and left together. As they did so, one of the co-conspirators dropped some of the stolen property, which Burton picked up before she left with the group.  Police arrested Burton on February 12, 2024.

            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.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Toogun and Katrenia Shelly prosecuted the case.

            WASHINGTON –The Middle East Institute, a Washington, D.C., based nonprofit organization, has agreed to pay $718,558 to settle allegations that the organization violated the False Claims Act when it applied for and received a $359,279 second-draw loan under the Paycheck Protection Act Program of the CARES Disaster Relief Program, and when it further applied for and was granted forgiveness of the entire amount of the loan. 

            The agreement was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Eastern Region.

            In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was created to provide emergency financial support to Americans suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small business and other entities, including non-profit organizations, struggling to pay employees and other business expenses. Under the applicable provision of the CARES Act, a business concern or other entity, including a nonprofit organization, is not eligible to receive a second draw loan if it is primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities, which shall include any entity that is organized for research or for engaging in advocacy in areas such as public policy or political strategy or otherwise describes itself as a think tank in any public document.

            At the time it applied for the second draw PPP loan, the Middle East Institute certified to the SBA in the loan application that it was “not a business concern or entity primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities, including any entity that is organized for research or for engaging in advocacy in areas such as public policy or political strategy or otherwise describes itself as a think tank in any public documents.”  It further certified in the loan forgiveness application that it met the conditions for receiving the second draw PPP loan. The Middle East Institute contends that any misstatements in this application were inadvertent.

            Under the False Claims Act, a party found to violate the Act must pay three-times the amount of damage to the United States. Had the Middle East Institute been found liable to the United States under the False Claims Act, it would have been ordered to pay three times the amount of the loan and lost interest, along with civil penalties for each certification made in the loan application and forgiveness application. In connection with this settlement, the Middle East Institute agreed to pay an amount equal to two-times the loan amount, or $718,558.

            The settlement announced today stems from a Federal investigation that was initiated when another public interest group, TZAC, filed a whistleblower complaint pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The claims resolved by the civil settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability in the civil case.

            The civil settlement was the result of an investigation by Assistant U.S. Attorney Darrell Valdez and Auditor Timothy Hurley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  U.S. Attorney Graves commended Attorneys Gary Fox and Kandace Zeyala of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of the General Counsel for their assistance in the investigation and settlement negotiations. The case is captioned U.S. ex rel. TZAC v. The Middle East Institute.

            Tips and complaint regarding potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or by submitting a NCDF Web Complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

21cr3405

WASHINGTON – Kenneth Miles Davis, Jr., 45, of Maryland, was sentenced today to 32 years and six months for multiple charges arising from the May 19, 2021 road rage shooting directed at a woman and her two children, ages 11 and 5, as well as a bystander, in Northeast Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

            The defendant was found guilty of one count of assault with intent to kill while armed, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, following a three-week jury trial in January in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 

            According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 5:00 pm on May 19, 2021, the defendant was driving his Maserati GranTurismo in heavy rush-hour traffic at the intersection of Kenilworth Avenue NE and Eastern Avenue NE when he suddenly got out of his car with a handgun. Davis fired seven times into the car in front of him, which was occupied by a woman and her two children, then turned and fired six more shots at bystanders. The woman suffered a gunshot wound to her upper arm and the 5-year-old child was cut by broken automobile glass. Fortunately, the 11-year-old child and the bystanders were not injured. Metropolitan Police Department investigators uncovered video evidence that was disseminated to local news outlets, the broadcast of which generated a tip that led to the identification of Davis as the owner of the Maserati, and ultimately, as the shooter.

            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 expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Antoinette Sakamsa and Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Renee Prather; and Litigation Technology Specialist Charlie Bruce.

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

WASHINGTON – Lori Isabell Morgan, 35, of Greenbelt, Maryland, was arrested on June 12 on an indictment charging her with defrauding the U.S. Government of nearly $150,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds, which were meant to provide relief to businesses suffering economic hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

            The indictment, which charges six counts of wire fraud, 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 Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration - Office of the Inspector General.

            Morgan made her initial court appearance on June 12 before the Honorable Zia M. Faruqui in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

            According to court documents, Morgan allegedly submitted an EIDL application to the Small Business Administration (SBA), in which she claimed to own 100% of an “agriculture” business that was based out of her Washington D.C. apartment. Morgan claimed to employ 10 people and to have generated $7.5 million in gross revenues in 2019. There allegedly was no such business.

            On July 8, 2020, the SBA deposited $149,900 in Morgan’s bank account. Morgan allegedly used the money to pay off her debts, and pay for auto repair, restaurant tabs, shopping purchases, and trips to Atlantic City and Las Vegas. By December 31, 2020, Morgan’s account balance was down to $829.

            The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted in or around March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief that had been provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of billions in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

            An Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) is a Small Business Administration administered loan designed to assist small businesses that suffered substantial economic injury as a result of a declared disaster. An EIDL helped businesses meet necessary financial obligations that could have been met had the disaster not occurred. It provided relief from economic injury that the disaster caused and permitted businesses to maintain a reasonable working capital position during the period that the disaster affected.

            The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Macey.

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

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WASHINGTON – Jonathan Brown, 31, pleaded guilty today to 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 guilty plea 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 to a two-count criminal Information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine base and voluntary manslaughter while armed. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton scheduled sentencing for August 8, 2024.

            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 Street, 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, 31, died of his wound at a nearby hospital.

            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.

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A federal jury in the District of Columbia today convicted former Officer Philip Dupree, 38, of the Fairmount Heights Police Department in Maryland, for using excessive force.

“Police brutality and violent misconduct against defenseless people are disgraceful acts that have no place in our society today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “When law enforcement officers abuse their power, it erodes trust with the communities they are sworn to protect and serve. The victim was handcuffed and already restrained in the back of the defendant’s squad car at the time of the assault. The Justice Department is committed to holding accountable law enforcement officers who violate the civil and constitutional rights of those in their custody.”

“We depend on law enforcement officers to protect our communities from crimes and to protect our civil rights while doing so,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “An officer who abuses his authority breaks the community’s trust and unfairly tarnishes the reputation of the vast majority of officers who do their jobs the right way. The jury found that the defendant broke that trust when he unjustly and unreasonably used force and violence against a fellow citizen.”

“Law enforcement officers swear to protect the people they serve, including those in their custody,” said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Dupree defiled that responsibility and violated a man’s civil rights. As this case demonstrates, the FBI will not hesitate to investigate officers of the law who engage in misconduct, including those who use excessive force.”

During a weeklong jury trial, the evidence showed that, during the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 2019, Dupree was on duty as a Fairmont Heights Police Officer when he conducted a traffic stop in the District of Columbia. Dupree detained a man identified as T.S. and then deployed pepper spray as T.S. was handcuffed and seated in the back of Dupree’s police car. The government argued, and the jury found, that Dupree’s use of force was a violation of T.S.’ right to be free from excessive force by a law enforcement officer.

A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date. Dupree faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for his alleged use of unreasonable force.

The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Rakoczy and Christopher Howland for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – Philip Dupree, 40, a former officer with the Fairmount Heights, MD Police Department, was found guilty today in U.S. District Court of violating a man’s civil rights.

            The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves of the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the Washington Field Office.

            A federal jury found Dupree guilty of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly will schedule sentencing at a later date. Dupree faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for his use of unreasonable force. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            “We depend on law enforcement officers to protect our communities from crimes and to protect our civil rights while doing so,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “An officer who abuses his authority breaks the community’s trust and unfairly tarnishes the reputation of the vast majority of officers who do their jobs the right way. The jury found that the defendant broke that trust when he unjustly and unreasonably used force and violence against a fellow citizen.”

            “Police brutality and violent misconduct against defenseless people are disgraceful acts that have no place in our society today,” said Assistant Attorney General Clarke. “When law enforcement officers abuse their power, it erodes trust with the communities they are sworn to protect and serve. The victim was handcuffed and already restrained in the back of the defendant’s squad car at the time of the assault. The Justice Department is committed to holding accountable law enforcement officers who violate the civil and constitutional rights of those in their custody.”

            "Law enforcement officers swear to protect the people they serve, including those in their custody,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Sundberg. “Dupree defiled that responsibility and violated a man's civil rights. As this case demonstrates, the FBI will not hesitate to investigate officers of the law who engage in misconduct, including those who use excessive force."

         According to court documents, Dupree was on duty as a Fairmont Heights Police Officer during the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 2019. Dupree spotted a speeding vehicle and conducted a traffic stop on Eastern Avenue NE, in the District of Columbia, just across the Maryland-District of Columbia border. The driver and his sister were returning home to the District of Columbia from a family cookout in Maryland.

            Based on a 911 recording placed by the driver’s sister, Dupree told the driver to put his hands behind his back or he would pepper spray him and Dupree would activate his body-worn camera (BWC) to make the stop “official.” The driver questioned the stop because he had not committed any traffic violations and because the stop occurred in the District of Columbia. Dupree asked the driver to exit his vehicle, handcuffed the driver behind his back, and placed the driver in the front passenger seat of Dupree’s personal vehicle.

            After Dupree radioed for back-up, an officer from the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGCPD) responded. Around that same time, an MPD officer arrived at the scene in response to a 911 call the driver’s sister had placed. The MPD officer activated his BWC. Dupree did not activate his BWC at any point during the traffic stop. While the handcuffed driver was seated in Dupree’s vehicle, the driver’s sister sat in the driver’s car, ostensibly to prevent Dupree from towing the vehicle. After Dupree told the sister that he “was going to ask [her] one more time to get out of the car,” the sister responded that the car belonged to her brother and that she had a driver’s license. When the sister still refused to exit the vehicle, Dupree threatened to pepper spray her by aggressively shaking his canister of pepper spray.

            While the defendant was engaged with the sister, the handcuffed driver was seated in the front passenger seat of Dupree’s car yelling obscenities and insults and activating the vehicle’s sirens. The PFCPD officer asked the handcuffed driver to step out of the vehicle. Dupree asked the other officers for help in taking the handcuffed driver back to Maryland. The PGCPD officer declined to assist.

            As it became clear that Dupree would have to transport the driver himself, Dupree then placed the handcuffed driver back in the front passenger seat. The handcuffed driver started to scream, pleading to have another officer transport him. Dupree grabbed his pepper spray, took a step back away from handcuffed driver, shook the canister, and then stepped forward, at which point Dupree pepper-sprayed the handcuffed driver in the face and chest. Instead of transporting the handcuffed driver to the county lock-up as required by FHPD policy, Dupree transported the driver to the FHPD station and detained him there for several hours before turning him over to the county jail. While the driver was detained at FHPD, Dupree drafted a falsified statement of Probable Cause in which he claimed, among other things, that the driver had attacked him.

            In addition to body-worn camera footage, an eyewitness captured cell phone video of the traffic stop and Dupree’s excessive use of force.

            FBI agents arrested Dupree on August 24, 2022, in Washington D.C.

            The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Howland of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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WASHINGTON – Travone Henderson, 21, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today for shooting two individuals in the middle of the day on November 13, 2023, near a Columbia Heights shopping center, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  

            Henderson pleaded guilty on February 28, 2024, to assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Today, Superior Court Judge Jason Park sentenced Henderson to serve a total of seven years’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for the two offenses.

            According to the government’s evidence, with which Henderson agreed, on November 13, 2023, at around 12:30 p.m., Henderson walked on the sidewalk on 14th Street Northwest past the DC USA shopping center entrance. Henderson passed the victim, who was standing on the sidewalk speaking to a man. Abruptly, Henderson turned towards the victim and rushed at him with a firearm. The victim ran and Henderson attempted to move the victim’s companion in an effort to grab the victim. Henderson then fired several times at the fleeing victim. The victim and a passing bystander each sustained a bullet wound to their legs. Henderson immediately fled on foot.           

            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 Richard Carlton, who prosecuted the case.

            WASHINGTON –Terrell Poe, 37, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 45 years in prison for his role in the murder of Christopher Washington in September 2020. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On February 15, 2024, a jury found Poe guilty on three counts of first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe sentenced Poe to 45 years in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

           According to the government’s evidence presented at trial, at 2:24 p.m. on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 23, 2020, 30-year-old Christopher Washington, was waiting at the bus stop on Southern Avenue, SE when Poe pulled up in a stolen white pickup truck. Poe got out of the truck, armed with an assault rifle, and shot Mr. Washington to death.  Just minutes earlier, in a local church parking lot, Poe had switched from his girlfriend’s car into the stolen pickup truck and gone looking for Mr. Washington.  Poe passed Mr. Washington as he walked up Indian Head Highway in Maryland, then turned around and followed Mr. Washington, apparently losing sight of him, and then finding him again at the bus stop.  After the murder, Poe returned to the church parking lot, dropped off the stolen truck and drove off in his girlfriend’s car.

            In announcing the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated 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. Attorneys Peter V. Roman and Wes Faulkner.

WASHINGTON – Joseph Melton, 55, of Washington, DC, was sentenced today, by Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe, to 366 months in prison for the January 2020 murder of a man. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Melton pleaded guilty on March 25, 2024, to second degree murder while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon (knife).

            According to the government’s evidence, around 9:10 a.m. on January 14, 2020, Melton approached Kevin Chamberlain in the 1800 block of Connecticut Ave. NW. Mr. Chamberlain recognized the defendant from college, thirty years ago, but did not know the defendant’s name. As they encountered each other, Melton made threats to Mr. Chamberlain, and then pulled out a knife from his pants pocket and attempted to stab him. Mr. Chamberlain was able to escape that attack and Melton fled the scene.

            Later that same day, at around 1:15 p.m., a second victim encountered Melton in the 800 block of Vermont Ave., NW. Melton stabbed this victim in a vicious attack. This victim would later physically recover from his injuries.

            However, about an hour thereafter, Melton re-encountered Mr. Chamberlain in the area of the intersection of 24th and G Streets, NW, and attacked him again, stabbing him repeatedly. Mr. Chamberlain succumbed to his wounds a few hours thereafter.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the Homicide Branch of 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. Attorneys Michael Liebman and Andrea Antonelli.

WASHINGTON – Christopher Richardson, 37, formerly of San Antonio, Texas, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for filing a false report with the Federal Election Commission and for credit card fraud.

            The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Scott Moffit of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s (TIGTA) Cybercrime Investigations Division.

            Richardson, who has a prior federal conviction for bank fraud, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false entry in a record and one count of access device fraud on February 29, 2024.  In addition to the 18-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered Richardson to serve three years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, in March 2020 Richardson created an independent, expenditure-only Super PAC named Americans for Progressive Action USA (AFPA) that used fictitious names for AFPA’s treasurer and designated agent. Richardson then filed a falsified quarterly report with the FEC claiming that AFPA had raised $4.8 million from several fictitious individuals. Several weeks later, he filed a report of expenditures that falsely claimed that the Super PAC spent over $1.5 million to purchase advertisements and media production opposing certain candidates for the U.S. Senate. Richardson filed another FEC report that falsely stated that AFPA refunded the non-existent $4.8 million in donations. Richardson also used the alias of one of the fictitious donors to AFPA to obtain a credit card, and then used that card to conduct approximately 200 transactions.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and TIGTA Cybercrime Investigations Division. It was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ryan R. Crosswell of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold for the District of Columbia with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Baset.

WASHINGTON – One of two brothers, Jevaughn Mark, was charged earlier today in a second superseding indictment in connection with distributing fentanyl and cocaine, on December 26, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of two men, Brandon Román and Robert Barletta. The Mark brothers, Jevaughn “Ledo” Mark, 32, and Angelo Mark, 30, previously were charged on April 9 in a 17-count superseding indictment for participating in a conspiracy that distributed large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine in the metropolitan area.

             The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Washington Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           Jevaughn Mark is currently being held on charges that include eight counts of unlawful distribution (of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin) and distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl between January 10, 2024, and March 13, 2024. The charges stem from six controlled purchases in which undercover DEA and MPD taskforce officers (UC-DEA/MPD) contacted Jevaughn Mark and purchased narcotics. In each instance, the UC-DEA/MPD agents requested to buy “Special K” or ketamine from Jevaughn Mark. In every instance, Jevaughn Mark supplied a mixture of fentanyl and other substances, including heroin, but not ketamine.

             After obtaining an indictment against Jevaughn Mark, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence in connection with his arrest. From his residence, agents recovered two firearms, cocaine, fentanyl, about $38,000 in cash, body armor vests, and drug trafficking paraphernalia. The same day, law enforcement executed another search warrant at a second residence tied to Jevaughn Mark, in which they located his brother, Angelo Mark. From Angelo Mark’s bedroom, law enforcement recovered seven firearms, 900 rounds of ammunition, dozens of pills, cocaine, fentanyl, drug trafficking paraphernalia, and about $50,000 in cash. Based on the evidence, both brothers were indicted in the first superseding indictment.

            On April 9, both Jevaughn Mark and Angelo Mark were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine between January 2021 and March 2024. 

             Separately, Angelo Mark was charged in the first superseding indictment with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. 

             In addition to the new count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, Jevaughn Mark previously was charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. 

             The case is being investigated by the DEA’s Washington Division and the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Iris McCranie and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Coley, of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses (VRTO) section.

             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 – Maurice Edwards, 20, of Washington, D.C., was charged yesterday with armed carjacking in District of Columbia Superior Court, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Edwards is detained pending his June 14, 2024, preliminary hearing.

            According to the government’s evidence, on March 11, 2024, Edwards drove a car through a stop sign at 48th Pl and Lee St, NE, and struck the victim’s vehicle. Edwards and his accomplice, Auzsa Beatty, got out of their car and yelled at the victim. When the victim got out of his car, Edwards pulled a gun on him, and Beatty got into the victim’s car. Beatty drove off in the victim’s vehicle, and Edwards drove off in the vehicle he had been driving. The victim immediately reported the offense. MPD Officers later found the victim’s car parked near Beatty’s home.

            Beatty, 28, of Washington, D.C., was previously charged with carjacking, and has been detained pending her August 12, 2024, trial before the Honorable Andrea Hertzfeld. Edwards’ case will be joined with Beatty’s.

            This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Cocuzza.

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

A New Jersey man was sentenced today to one year and six months in prison for falsifying a report filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and credit card fraud.

According to court documents, in March 2020, Christopher Richardson, 37, formerly of San Antonio, Texas, created an independent, expenditure-only political action committee, or Super PAC, named Americans for Progressive Action USA (AFPA) that used fictitious names for AFPA’s treasurer and designated agent. Richardson then filed a falsified quarterly report with the FEC claiming that AFPA had raised $4.8 million from several fictitious individuals. Several weeks later, he filed a report of expenditures that falsely claimed that the Super PAC spent over $1.5 million to purchase advertisements and media production opposing certain candidates for the U.S. Senate. Richardson filed another FEC report that falsely stated that AFPA refunded the non-existent $4.8 million in donations.

Richardson also used the alias of one of the fictitious donors to AFPA to obtain a credit card, and then used that card to conduct approximately 200 transactions.

Richardson pleaded guilty on Feb. 29 to one count of making a false entry in a record and one count of access device fraud.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia; Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Scott Moffit of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s (TIGTA) Cybercrime Investigations Division made the announcement.

The FBI Washington Field Office and TIGTA Cybercrime Investigations Division investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Ryan R. Crosswell of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Baset for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – Guilbert Rojas Villarroel, 39, of Alexandria, Va., was arraigned today before the Honorable Heidi Pasichow of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on a Superior Court indictment arising from a September 2023 carjacking, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            The grand jury returned its indictment on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, charging Villarroel with armed carjacking, robbery while armed, threats to injure/kidnap, and first-degree theft.

            According to the government’s evidence, on September 9, 2023, an Uber Eats driver stopped in the 2000 block of K Street NW to pick up an order, leaving his friend, the victim, in the car. Villarroel jumped in the driver’s seat and ordered the victim out of the car. The victim refused, and Villarroel drove off with him still in the car. After a short distance, Villarroel stopped the car and threatened to shoot and kill the victim if he did not get out, and reached toward his waistband, making the victim believe he had a gun. The victim got out of the car and started to call 911 as he walked away. Villarroel eventually abandoned the vehicle and began walking towards the victim. Villarroel approached the victim and threatened to kill him if he called 911. Villarroel then ran away. MPD officers arrived immediately, and arrested Villarroel a short distance away.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaniqua Butler.

            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 – Jalique Wiseman, 19, of Washington, D.C., was indicted yesterday on twenty-four charges stemming from a string of robberies and armed robberies in October and November 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Wiseman was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges including robbery, armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with a dangerous weapon, and credit card fraud. Wiseman is scheduled to be arraigned on June 26, 2024, before the Honorable Jennifer Di Toro. 

            According to the government’s evidence, between October 2, 2023, and November 23, 2023, Wiseman and an accomplice robbed eleven people on or near the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Wiseman and his accomplice, using either physical violence or at gunpoint, robbed the victims of phones and other property. Wiseman demanded the victims’ passcodes and used that information to access the victims’ financial accounts to transfer money to accounts Wiseman controlled.

            This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. 

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kraig Ahalt of 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 – Carl Granada Wilson, Jr., 36, of Hollywood, California, pleaded guilty today to fraudulently obtaining access to two American companies’ UPS accounts, which were then used to create shipping labels by Raekwon Malik Harrod, of Washington, D.C., and another individual. 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.

            Wilson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which has a statutory maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment. As part of his plea agreement, he must pay restitution to the two companies. He also will be liable for a forfeiture money judgment for proceeds he received as a result of the scheme. U.S. District Court Judge Ana C. Reyes, who accepted Wilson’s guilty plea in the District of Columbia, scheduled sentencing for October 31, 2024.

            In his plea agreement, Wilson admitted that no later than 2020, he gained access to one company’s UPS account’s log-in credentials and provided them to Harrod, who provided the credentials to a Maryland co-conspirator. Initially, Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator, who both re-sold shoes online, used the account to create UPS shipping labels to mail the shoes that they sold, which reduced their shipping costs to zero. Wilson admitted that he intended for Harrod to use the account to ship shoes. In late 2020, Harrod and a Maryland co-conspirator started using the account to sell UPS shipping labels to third parties. Wilson did not know they were selling labels online. As a result of Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator’s use of the account, the company lost more than $900,000.

            In late July 2021, Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator lost access to the account, prompting them to tell Wilson that they had been selling labels using the account. Wilson requested that they pay him $120,000, which Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator understood would be used to compensate the person who gave Wilson access to the account. In reality, Wilson planned to keep all of that money for himself. In August 2021, Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator withdrew nearly $70,000 in cash and flew with the money to Los Angeles. They withdrew another $50,000 once they were in California and provided the funds to Wilson.

            Eventually, Wilson secured access to a second American company’s UPS account, which he provided to Harrod and the Maryland co-conspirator. The two men then resumed selling UPS shipping labels online, this time with direct involvement and knowledge of Wilson.

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman with the assistance of paralegal specialist Sonalika Chaturvedi and Michon Tart. Former Financial Analyst Bryan Snitselaar assisted with the investigation.

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WASHINGTON – Alante Partlow, 29, of Washington, D.C., was charged yesterday in D.C. Superior Court with several offenses arising from an April 23, 2024, shooting, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief, Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department. Partlow is detained pending the June 27, 2024, preliminary hearing before the Superior Court Judge Robert Okun.

            Partlow was charged with one count of assault with intent to kill while armed for firing on the adult, and a second count of assault with intent to kill while armed for firing at the child in his effort to shoot the adult. He was also charged with aggravated assault while armed and possessing a firearm during each of the three crimes of violence.

            According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 11:26 p.m. on April 23, 2024, the victim and a 5-year-old child were walking out of an apartment building in the Fort Totten neighborhood after the adult had argued with Partlow. Partlow followed the victims outside and then fired multiple shots at the adult victim. The adult tried to shield the child and sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The child also sustained injuries.

            This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Roberts.

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