Month: September 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Pennsylvania woman was sentenced in the District of Columbia today on felony and misdemeanor charges related to her conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach. Her actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

            Sandra S. Weyer, 60, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg to 14 months in prison, 12 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and fines.

            Weyer was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, as well as four misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disruptive conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, picketing, or demonstrating in a Capitol building, on June 6, 2023, following a bench trial before Chief Judge Boasberg.

            According to evidence presented during the trial, Weyer traveled from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, and was among the first rioters to enter the Capitol grounds by breaching police barricades on the East Front. During her time on the Capitol grounds, Weyer documented her activities in real-time via Facebook Live. In one video, Weyer encouraged others to “tear this s— down” in reference to the metal barricades set up by police. Weyer also stated that she “personally helped take down the barricades at the front of the Capitol” and that she was “laser-focused on breaking the barricades.”

            After breaching the East Front barricades, Weyer paraded across the East Plaza to the bottom of the Central East Steps. Weyer and other rioters then marched up the Capitol steps and forcibly pushed and shoved their way toward the Rotunda Door. Once outside the Rotunda Door, Weyer commanded her fellow rioters to “hold your ground,” “charge,” “don’t retreat,” and “break that door.” After the door was breached, Weyer forced her way into the Capitol building, pushing past United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers.

            Once inside the Capitol, Weyer went directly toward the Rotunda and declared, “This is awesome. We did it,” before making her way to the various hallways on the third floor near the House and Senate galleries. Weyer was in the Capitol building for approximately ten minutes. However, she remained on the Central East Steps for approximately an hour and fifteen minutes after exiting the building.

            While outside on the Central East Steps, Weyer continued to video herself bragging about her exploits. She also responded in real-time videos to her social media followers, encouraging them to undertake similar illegal conduct at their local state Capitols.                                 

            Weyer was arrested on June 28, 2021, in Mechanicsburg.

            This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Office’s Capital Area Resident Agency and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,100 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 396 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigations are ongoing.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Samuel Sampson Peaks, 35, of Bowie, Maryland, was arraigned today on charges stemming from a 2013 cold case involving an armed sexual assault of a stranger, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            According to court documents, on February 12, 2013, Peaks encountered the victim, who was a stranger to him, at the Minnesota Ave. Metro station at approximately 6:00 a.m. He followed her and eventually brandished a handgun and forced her to perform a sexual act. After the assault was over, the victim immediately called police, who responded and recovered evidence. The evidence was timely tested for DNA in 2013 and resulted in a mixture of DNA from the victim and an unknown male. In 2020, the defendant was arrested for an unrelated crime in Prince George’s County, Maryland, at which time his DNA was collected and entered into CODIS, ultimately matching the DNA profile obtained from the evidence in the armed sexual assault case.

            On March 10, 2022, a District of Columbia Superior Court Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Peaks in the cold case with one count of first degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances. On February 17, 2023, the defendant was sentenced to a period of incarceration after conviction in the Prince George’s County case. Peaks was brought to D.C. and arraigned on the sexual assault indictment on September 14, 2023.

            If convicted of the D.C. sexual assault, Peaks faces a maximum sentence of up to life in prison, a possible fine of up to $125,000, no less than five years of supervised release, and would be required to register as a sex offender for life.

            This case was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative and investigated by MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit. In February 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia 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 against adults and juveniles. The Cold Case Initiative works with the MPD, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the DMV area.

            This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Zubrensky.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Saquan Williams, 22, Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for conspiracy, first-degree murder while armed, participation in a criminal street gang, and other charges for his role in a 2017 brazen shooting into a courtyard in the Potomac Gardens area of Southeast Washington. A jury found Williams guilty on July 18, 2022.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Pamela A. Smith, Acting Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            According to the government’s evidence, between May 2017 and October 2017, the defendant and others were members of a criminal street gang operating in the area of Wellington Park, within Washington, D.C. Williams, and others, were involved in a number of “beefs” with individuals from other areas of the city, many of which started as the result of petty feuds among local rival rap groups. 

            On Sept. 10, 2017, at approximately 6 p.m., as victim Carl Hardy was standing outside in the Potomac Gardens neighborhood, Williams and three others circled the neighborhood three times looking for individuals to target. On the fourth trip around the block, the vehicle stopped, and the driver paused to allow Williams and two other men to exit the vehicle armed with multiple weapons, to include an assault rifle. Williams and the two other shooters opened fire on the crowded courtyard, firing over 30 rounds and striking Mr. Hardy. The group then fled the scene.

            Mr. Hardy, 24, was transported to the hospital where doctors operated multiple times in their efforts to save him. Ultimately, on Oct. 1, 2017, Mr. Hardy succumbed to his injuries. Shortly after Mr. Hardy’s death, an arrest warrant was obtained for Williams charging him with the murder. A second shooter, Quincy Garvin, also was arrested and convicted at trial.  Garvin’s sentencing is scheduled for September 29, 2023.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting 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, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Chrisellen Kolb, Chief of the Appellate Division; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Sellinger, Daniel Lenerz, and Sharon Donovan; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Tasha Harris; Lead Paralegal Specialists Sharon Newman and Meridith McGarrity; Former Paralegal Specialist Stephanie Siegerist; Supervisory Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark; Witness Security Specialist Ashli Tolbert; Supervisory Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Litigation Technology Specialist Claudia Gutierrez; Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; Victim/Witness Services Coordinators LaJune Thames and Maenylie Watson; and Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin. 

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Jackson and former Assistant U.S. Attorney John Timmer, who investigated and indicted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Bach and Lindsey Merikas who prosecuted the case.