Source: United States Department of Justice News
Defendant Also Admitted that He Illegally Possessed a Privately Made Firearm, Specifically an Assault-Rifle Style Pistol, as well as Three Other Firearms
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Darius Lawrence Young, a/k/a “Mup”, age 30, of Washington, D.C., today to 13 years in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit kidnapping, in connection with the kidnapping of a victim from a Maryland hotel and casino and for possession of firearms and ammunition by a felon.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea and other court documents, on February 3, 2021, Darius Young, co-defendant Anthony Erik Hebron, co-defendant Christopher Young, co-defendant Lamar Perkins, and Co-conspirator 1 worked together to kidnap a victim from a Maryland casino and hotel. As stated in their pleas, Hebron and Co-conspirator 1 met Victim A at the hotel and casino, where they made the false promise that they would get women for Victim A if Victim A accompanied them to Southeast Washington, D.C. At approximately 7:30 a.m., Victim A agreed to travel to Southeast Washington, D.C. in Co-conspirator 1’s car with Hebron.
At 8:13 a.m., co-defendant Christopher Young called Darius Young to report that Hebron and Co-conspirator 1 had “snatched” Victim A. Soon after Co-conspirator 1, Hebron, and Victim A arrived in Southeast D.C., Darius and Christopher Young entered into Co-conspirator 1’s vehicle with Victim A inside. Hebron then pointed a gun at Victim A. At that time, Hebron, Darius and Christopher Young, and Co-conspirator 1 took Victim A’s personal items including Victim A’s wallet, cell phone, hotel room key, and a watch valued at $500.
Hebron, Darius and Christopher Young, and Co-conspirator 1 then demanded the code to Victim A’s hotel safe. When Victim A refused, Hebron struck Victim A in the forehead with the gun. In response, Victim A told the co-conspirators the code to the hotel safe. Hebron then forced Victim A out of the car. Darius and Christopher Young then exited the vehicle with Victim A as Hebron and Co-conspirator 1 drove back to the hotel and casino to burglarize Victim A’s hotel room.
As Hebron and Co-conspirator 1 traveled back to the hotel and casino, Darius and Christopher Young led Victim A at gunpoint to a boiler room inside a Southeast D.C. apartment building. Darius Young then called Perkins and directed him to look out for police or anyone else that might hear or see Darius and Christopher Young with Victim A. Inside the boiler room, Darius and Christopher Young repeatedly assaulted Victim A, threatened his life, demanded Victim A’s PIN number to his ATM card, and demanded information about the items located in his hotel room. Darius and Christopher Young then relayed this information to Hebron and Co-conspirator 1 by phone. Simultaneously, Hebron and Co-conspirator 1 accessed Victim A’s hotel room where they stole Victim A’s property, including a gaming system, $1,500 in casino chips, and approximately $6,000 in cash.
As stated in the plea agreements, after conspiracy members stole Victim A’s hotel items, and left Victim A inside the Southeast D.C. apartment building, law enforcement saw Darius and Christopher Young walking away from the building. Moments later, law enforcement located Victim A, who had sustained several injuries, including a bloody wound on his forehead, a broken nose, and cuts on his mouth and eye.
On March 16, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Darius Young’s residence, locating Young in a bedroom on the second floor of the residence. Young was taken into custody. Officers recovered two loaded .40-caliber pistols—one under the mattress and one in the closet in Young’s bedroom. Law enforcement also recovered a .223-caliber assault-rifle style pistol loaded with 23 rounds of ammunition, located in a backpack in the bedroom. The assault-rifle style pistol did not have any serial number or markings associated with a known manufacturer, indicating that it was a privately made firearm, also known as a “ghost gun.” Outside the bedroom closet officers recovered a loaded 9mm pistol from the pocket of a dark gray jacket and a clear bag containing approximately 10 grams of crack cocaine. Officers also recovered a black digital scale and firearms magazine containing nine rounds of 9mm ammunition from Young’s residence. Young knew that he had previous felony convictions and therefore was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Co-defendants Anthony Erik Hebron, a/k/a “Pain”, age 29; Lamar Jamal Perkins, age 28; and Christopher Allen Young, a/k/a “40,” age 27, all of Washington, D.C pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Hebron is expected to be sentenced to 14 years in federal prison at his sentencing on August 8, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Christopher Young was sentenced to 126 months in federal prison at his sentencing on May 4, 2022. Perkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison at his sentencing on May 23, 2022.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN, an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime, is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI Washington and the FBI Baltimore Field Offices and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey J. Izant and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Engelking, who prosecuted the case, and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Grossi for her assistance.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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