Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Jose Avelino Felipe, 45, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for stabbing his female roommate in 2021, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of assault with intent to kill in August 2023 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  

            According to the government’s evidence, on Dec. 4, 2021, Avelino Felipe and his wife were living in the same apartment as the victim and her husband. That evening, Avelino Felipet and the victim’s husband got into a physical altercation in the home. Both men left the home after the altercation. Shortly thereafter, Avelino Felipe returned to the home, where the victim remained. Avelino Felipe went to her bedroom and asked whether she would call the police. She stated she would not. Nevertheless, Avelino Felipe then stabbed the victim twice with a knife, once in the chest, and once in her left shoulder. He fled the apartment before police arrived. The victim required emergency surgery for her injuries. In the immediate aftermath of the assault, the victim’s left lung filled with blood, and her right lung collapsed, requiring the insertion of chest tubes.

            The MPD’s Capitol Area Regional Fugitive Task Force apprehended Avelino Felipe on May 23, 2023.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the MPD. They also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Covert, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Harold Augostus Stone, 48, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to five years in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Acting Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Stone is one of 20 defendants charged in connection with a wide-ranging drug trafficking investigation centered on the area of 7^th and O Streets, in Northwest Washington, D.C.  He pleaded guilty on June 23, 2022. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered an additional five years of supervised release.

            Stone has a prior conviction for first degree murder while armed for a 1992 slaying in the District of Columbia. His sentence was reduced under D.C.’s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act, and he was released from custody in July 2020. He also has a previous conviction for assault with a deadly weapon in Virginia.

            According to court documents, in mid-2021 members of the MPD, working with the FBI, began investigating violent crime and drug trafficking activities connected to an open-air drug market at the corner of 7th and O Streets. The investigation revealed that the individuals charged gathered in this area on a regular basis to sell controlled substances that included cocaine base and fentanyl. Law enforcement identified several neighborhood residences the group used as stash houses for storing, processing, and packaging drugs for resale.

              On May 11, 2022, Stone – aka “Bankroll” – was arrested by four U.S. Park Police on the 1200 block of M Street, NW. At the time, Stone was wearing a satchel and a large puffy jacket. Inside the satchel, officers recovered six knotted bags weighing 98 grams total and $3,242 in cash. The substance in the bags tested positive for cocaine base and weighed more than 28 grams.       

            This case stems from a collaborative investigation by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) of MPD’s Violent Crime Suppression Division, the FBI Washington Field Office’s Cross Border Safe Streets Task Force, the Washington Division of the DEA, and the U.S. Park Police. The Cross Border Safe Streets Task Force targets the most egregious and violent street crews operating in the District of Columbia. 

            The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Rosenberg and Solomon Eppel of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with valuable assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorney Steven Wasserman and former Special Assistant United States Attorney Shaunik Panse.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Tennessee man was found guilty in the District of Columbia today of five felony charges related to his conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His 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.

            Ronald Colton McAbee, 29, of Unionville, Tennessee, was found guilty of all charges against him following a jury trial in U.S. District Court. McAbee was convicted of five felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers; civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

            On Sept. 25, 2023, McAbee pleaded guilty to a separate felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer and a misdemeanor charge for an act of physical violence on the Capitol grounds before U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras in the District of Columbia.

            Judge Contreras will sentence McAbee on Feb. 29, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 6, 2021, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to the U.S. Capitol building to assist the U.S. Capitol Police in maintaining the security of the Capitol from ongoing riots. At approximately 4:20 p.m., MPD officers made their way to an interior tunnel of the Capitol building. Here, they assumed a post in an Archway that provided access to the building’s Lower West Terrace.

            As the officers arrived, hundreds of individuals gathered outside the Archway, some throwing and/or swinging various makeshift weapons at the group of officers. At about 4:27 p.m., an MPD officer positioned toward the opening of the Archway was knocked to the ground, kicked, and stripped of his baton. During this incident, McAbee was positioned on the south side of the Archway and was able to observe the assault.

            After the officer was knocked to the ground, McAbee stepped into the Archway, grabbed the officer’s leg, and pulled him further towards the crowd. When a second MPD officer stepped off the police line to assist the downed officer, McAbee stood up, yelled at the officer who had stepped out to assist, and then swung his arms and hands towards the officer’s head and torso. McAbee made contact with the officer and was wearing reinforced knuckle gloves at the time of the assault.

            McAbee then returned his attention to the downed officer and lifted him by the torso and shoulders. As a result, McAbee and the officer slid down a set of steps, with McAbee falling on top of the officer. The two landed in the crowd, where McAbee lay on top of the officer while other rioters assailed the officer for over 20 seconds before the officer was finally able to get up and work his way back to the Archway. The officer sustained physical injuries, including a head laceration, concussion, elbow injury, bruising, and bodily abrasions. The officer was transported to the hospital and treated for his injuries.

            McAbee was arrested on Aug. 17, 2021, in Nashville, Tennessee.

            The Court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington, Memphis, and Knoxville Field Offices, which identified McAbee as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #134 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 33 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 400 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains 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

Daniel Greene, 41, of Washington, D.C., was indicted today by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on two counts of second-degree theft stemming from the Sept. 16, 2023, package thefts on the 600 block of G Street NE.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Kinshasa Reddock, 40, of Washington, D.C., was indicted by a grand jury this week in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on one count of second-degree theft stemming from the Oct. 1, 2023, theft from a CVS store at 14th and W Streets NW, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Reddock is to be arraigned on Friday, Oct.13, 2023, at a hearing before a Superior Court judge.

            According to the indictment, at about 5:35 p.m. on Oct. 1, 2023, Reddock entered the CVS store, took various items from the shelves and placed them into a bag. Reddock then promptly left the store bypassing all points of sale without paying for any of the items. He was arrested minutes later, in possession of many of the items, by members of the MPD. 

            Reddock has more than two prior theft convictions and is therefore subject to enhanced penalties for his alleged theft, including a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison.

            This case is being investigated by the MPD. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Lieberman.

            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.