Month: February 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal jury convicted Madani Ilara Tejan, a/k/a “Malik,” “Mylik,” and “Dani,” age 30, of Washington, D.C., late on February 17, 2023, for using a firearm in connection with murder and robbery, and for a drug distribution conspiracy. 

The guilty verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the FBI Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Washington Division; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief Robert J. Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department; Director Corenne Labbé of the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections; and Director Thomas N. Faust of the D.C. Department of Corrections.

According to the evidence presented at this nine-day trial, on October 3, 2018, Tejan met with a drug customer, to whom Tejan had arranged to sell drugs.  During the meeting, Tejan shot and killed the drug customer, then stole the victim’s car, wallet, and other personal items.  On October 20, 2018, a search warrant was executed at a residence in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, associated with Tejan and law enforcement recovered the victim’s wallet, two bags of marijuana and a prepaid cellular phone.  Investigation revealed that the prepaid phone had been in contact with the victim’s phone several times on October 3, 2018 and was used interchangeably with Tejan’s registered phone to communicate with the victim in the hours before his murder.  Additionally, 1,013 fentanyl pills were seized from Tejan while he was residing in a government-run residential facility.  Tejan’s social media accounts and phone messages revealed that he distributed fentanyl marketed as oxycodone as well as other prescription drugs and marijuana to multiple individuals, including the victim.

Tejan faces a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances; a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances and for an armed commercial robbery; and a maximum of life in federal prison for use of a firearm to commit murder in relation to a crime of violence.  No sentencing date has been set for Tejan.

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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite commended the FBI, DEA, Prince George’s County Police Department, Metropolitan Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, D.C. Department of Corrections, for their work in the investigation and thanked the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin R. Cottingham and Trial Attorneys Gerald A. A. Collins and Lisa K. Man of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who are prosecuting the case.

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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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury convicted a Washington man on Feb. 17 of using a firearm in connection with murder and robbery.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Madani Ilara Tejan, aka Malik, aka Mylik, aka Dani, 30, arranged to sell drugs to an individual (Victim). On Oct. 3, 2018, Tejan directed the Victim to meet him in a residential neighborhood in Lanham, Maryland, where he fatally shot the Victim. Prince George’s County police officers responded to a concerned citizen’s call about a shooting and found the Victim dead with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body. Tejan had also taken the Victim’s personal items, including drugs, money, his car, and wallet.

On Oct. 20, 2018, officers executed a search warrant on a residence associated with Tejan in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Officers recovered the Victim’s wallet, two bags of marijuana, and a backpack that contained a pre-paid Cricket Wireless phone. The device had been in touch with the Victim several times on the day of the murder and was used interchangeably with Tejan’s registered phone to communicate with the Victim during the hours leading up to his death. 

Additionally, 1,013 fentanyl pills were seized from Tejan while he was residing in a government-run residential facility. Tejan’s social media accounts and phone messages revealed that he distributed oxycodone as well as other prescription drugs and marijuana to multiple individuals.

Tejan was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances, Hobbs Act robbery, and use of a firearm to commit murder in relation to a crime of violence. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the use of a firearm to commit murder in relation to a crime of violence. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the FBI Washington Field Office, Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department, Robert J. Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department, Director Corenne Labbé of the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, Director Thomas N. Faust of the D.C. Department of Corrections, and State Attorney Aisha N.  Braveboy of the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Office made the announcement.

The FBI, DEA, Prince George’s County Police Department, Metropolitan Police Department, Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, D.C. Department of Corrections, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Criminal Investigations Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Gerald A. A. Collins and Lisa K. Man of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin R. Cottingham for the District of Maryland.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Alexis Hawkins, 46, of Washington, D.C. pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed in the August 14, 2022 killing of Cynthia Stewart and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in an unrelated case, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            The plea was entered on February 17, 2023, before the Honorable Maribeth Raffinan in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The defendant faces a possible sentence of eight and a half to 12 years in prison, followed by supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for May 12, 2023.

            According to the government’s evidence, on August 14, 2022, officers of the Metropolitan Police Department responded to an apartment in the 3900 block of 4th Street SE in reference to a stabbing. Upon their arrival officers discovered the decedent suffering from multiple stab wounds to the body, including a fatal stab wound to the chest.

            The investigation revealed that prior to the killing, the decedent was inside an apartment with two other women. Hawkins came over to the apartment and began to argue with the decedent. The argument then turned physical when Hawkins began hitting the decedent. During the physical altercation, Hawkins grabbed a knife out of her bag and stabbed the decedent multiple times before fleeing the scene.

            Hawkins was arrested on August 25, 2022. She has been in custody since that time.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Stephanie Gilbert and Victim/Witness Advocate Latrice Washington-Williams. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Miles Janssen, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court in El Paso Wednesday to 144 months in prison, along with an El Paso man who was sentenced to 200 months in prison, for violation of federal law concerning hostage taking.

According to court documents, Carlos Villa-Miranda aka “Negro,” 42 of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and Enrique Quiroz Jr. aka “Kike,” 50 of El Paso were co-conspirators in a human smuggling organization through which they demanded money from the families of the undocumented individuals they were trafficking.  Quiroz threatened to kill the trafficking victims if they were to speak to the police and urged the victims to tell their families to pay the ransoms.  Villa-Miranda also made threats toward the undocumented individuals, on at least one occasion brandishing a butcher-style knife.

In December 2020, Villa-Miranda was arrested after he fled a secondary inspection at the Las Cruces U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint on Interstate-10, and Quiroz was taken into custody during a search of his apartment.

“These human smuggling organizations are incredibly dangerous and prove that they value their pursuit of money and power through unlawful means far more than the lives of their trafficking victims,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas.  “The agents with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) did an outstanding job tracking down these two criminals and putting a stop to their roles as human smugglers.”

“These sentences show the grave consequences human smugglers face when they exploit people in such a ruthless way,” said Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola of the HSI El Paso Division.  “HSI is vehemently committed to using its ample authority to identify, investigate and arrest criminals who prey on the vulnerabilities of their human cargo with threats and acts of violence.”

HSI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Hines and Sarah Valenzuela prosecuted the case, along with former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Herbert Bunton and Spencer Kiggins.

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