Source: United States Department of Justice News
WASHINGTON – John Maurice West, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to serve 57 months in prison on a federal firearms charge stemming from his possession of a loaded firearm on June 27, 2022, aboard a Metrorail train and in the 1700 block of 8th Street NW.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Chief Michael Anzallo, of the Metro Transit Police Department, and Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
West pleaded guilty on May 18, 2023, in the United States 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. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jia M. Cobb. Following his prison term, West will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to court papers, on June 27, 2022, West threatened another man with a gun while aboard a Metrorail train at the Gallery Place–Chinatown Metro Station. The victim disembarked at the next station and reported the offense. Surveillance footage revealed that West exited the Metro at the Shaw–Howard University station and ran into the 1700 block of 8th Street NW, in the District’s Shaw neighborhood. Surveillance footage also depicted West in and around the entryway of an apartment building in that block moments before his arrest. Police canvassed the area and found a loaded, semi-automatic handgun concealed in a drainage pipe. Subsequent DNA testing and analysis linked both the handgun and its magazine to West.
Federal law prohibits West from possessing a firearm because, in 2014, he was convicted in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of possession with intent to distribute cocaine while armed with a firearm.
West was arrested on June 27, 2022, and has remained in custody ever since.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, Chief Anzallo, and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metro Transit and Metropolitan Police Departments. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Karla Nunez.
Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant United States Attorneys Paul V. Courtney and Thomas G. Strong, who investigated and prosecuted the case.