Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Ravel Mills, 29, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury yesterday of second-degree murder while armed and other charges in the April 2020 fatal shooting of 28-year-old Toussaunt Tarquann Strong in Southeast D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Mills was also found guilty of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and carrying a pistol without a license. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Michael K. O’Keefe will sentence Mills on January 12, 2024. Mills faces a statutory maximum penalty of up to 55 years in prison for both crimes. Under the Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, however, his sentencing range for the second-degree murder while armed is 12 to 24 years in prison.

            According to the evidence presented at trial, shortly before 7:00 pm on April 18, 2020, Toussaunt Strong was outside his father’s home in the Shipley Terrace neighborhood. Mills encountered Mr. Strong after Mills exited a nearby home and then pointed a weapon at Mr. Strong. In response, Mr. Strong fled. Mills then chased Mr. Strong up the 3400 block of 24th Street SE. As Mills got closer to Mr. Strong, Mills pulled his jacket hood over his head, pointed his gun, and shot Mr. Strong multiple times. Video cameras captured the chase, however, the shooting itself was not captured on camera nor were there any eyewitnesses to the murder. The Government presented video surveillance, circumstantial, and motive evidence in securing the conviction.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including: Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Donovan; Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Korba who investigated and indicted the case; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Miles Janssen and Andrea Antonelli who prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Arraignments were held today for four alleged members of a drug trafficking conspiracy. Jorge Cruz Maldonado, Francisco Alexander Rosales Diaz, Erik Rivera Garcia, and Vladimir Roque Ceron are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl.

            The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Field Division.

            Cruz Maldonado also is charged with unlawful distribution of 500 grams or more of cocaine; Cruz Maldonado, Rosales Diaz, and Rivera Garcia are charged with unlawful possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; Rivera Garcia also is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person. Rosales Diaz additionally is charged with unlawful possession of ammunition by a prohibited person.

            According to court documents, on or about Aug. 18, 2023, Cruz Maldonado, Rivera Garcia, and Rosales Diaz arrived in a vehicle at the parking lot of a shopping center in Northeast Washington, DC to conduct a drug deal. Shortly after, DEA agents approached all three individuals in their car and detained them. Inside the vehicle, DEA agents discovered and seized a loaded .38 caliber revolver, a loaded 9mm handgun, numerous rounds of ammunition for each firearm, an extended magazine, and approximately 3.6 kilograms of cocaine powder.

            It is further alleged that between March and June 2023, through five transactions in Hyattsville, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., Roque Ceron sold a total of approximately 111 pills containing fentanyl and 197 grams of cocaine powder for $8,250; and, through two transactions between June and August 2023 in Washington, DC, Cruz Maldonado sold a total of approximately 581 grams of cocaine powder for $16,000. It is further alleged that Cruz Maldonado is Roque Ceron’s supplier of fentanyl and cocaine, and that together with Rosales Diaz and Rivera Garcia, they are engaged in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl.

            Cruz Maldonado, Rosales Diaz, and Rivera Garcia were arrested on Aug. 18, 2023, and remain detained; Roque Ceron was arrested on August 20, 2023, and remains detained.  

            The maximum statutory sentence for the drug conspiracy charge is 40 years; the maximum statutory sentence for distributing or possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine is 40 years; the maximum statutory sentence for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense is life imprisonment; and the maximum statutory sentence for possessing a firearm and/or ammunition by a prohibited person is 15 years. All statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes.  If convicted of any offense, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case was investigated by the DEA’s Washington Field Division with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Washington Enforcement and Removal Operations) and the Metropolitan Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Javier Urbina and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Marin with the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            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 – Larry Richardson, 71, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to seven years in prison for the March 2022 kidnapping and sexual abuse of an acquaintance in Northwest Washington, DC. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On February 7, 2023, Richardson pleaded guilty to one count of attempted first degree sexual abuse and one count of kidnapping in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to the seven-year prison term, the Honorable Maribeth Raffinan ordered five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

            According to court documents, on March 30, 2022, the victim and Richardson were walking together in the 1800 block of Columbia Road NW, when the defendant became violent. Video surveillance captured the defendant dragging the victim into an alley, striking her multiple times in the face, and pulling her pants and underwear down to her thighs. As the victim struggled, the defendant alternatively climbed on top of her, struck her in the face with his fist repeatedly, and dragged her deeper into the alley by her arm and legs. When the victim tried to escape, the defendant again struck her in the side of the face.

            When the defendant had pulled the victim to the end of the alley, he pinned her to the ground with his body and repeatedly attempted to penetrate the victim’s vulva with his fingers as the victim tried to resist. Passersby heard the victim screaming and flagged down nearby police officers, who arrested the defendant on scene.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Sourbeer.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON –Quincy Garvin, 23, Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 36 years in prison for his role in a brazen shooting into a courtyard that took place in September 2017 in the Potomac Gardens area of Southeast Washington. Garvin was found guilty, in July 2022, of conspiracy, first-degree murder while armed, participation in a criminal street gang, and other charges. The sentence was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            “Violence between crews fuels a number of the homicides we see in the District,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “Those thinking of turning petty disputes into deadly shootings need to know that we will hold them accountable for their conduct and face sentences like this one.”

            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.  Garvin, 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. 

            At approximately 6 p.m. 0n September 10, 2017, the victim, Carl Hardy, was standing outside in the Potomac Gardens neighborhood as Garvin 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 Garvin and two other men to exit the vehicle armed with multiple weapons, including an assault rifle. Garvin 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 Garvin charging him with the murder.  A second shooter, Saquan Williams, was also charged and convicted at trial and was sentenced, on September 14, 2023, to 35 years in prison.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON—Charity Keys, 45, of Bowie, Maryland, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for engaging in a scheme – with a co-worker – to defraud the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS). Keys accepted more than $42,500 in kickbacks from a contractor in exchange for directing purchase agreements and orders to the contractor and then falsely certifying that goods that FEMS had paid for had been delivered when, in fact, they had not.

            The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

            Keys, who was a supply management specialist for FEMS, pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge on July 18, 2022, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered 36 months of supervised release with the first six months on home confinement, restitution in the amount of $257,680, a $42,500 forfeiture money judgment, and 100 hours of community service. Her co-defendant, Louis “Joey” Mitchell, III, was sentenced on September 16, 2022, to 34 months in prison.

            Keys’ responsibilities included procuring office supplies and other goods for the department. According to the court documents, between 2016 and 2020, Keys and Mitchell, 51, who was an FEMS warehouse supply technician, engaged in a bribery scheme with a contractor whose company was an approved vendor for various supplies. Keys and Mitchell solicited and received bribes from the contractor on at least seven occasions. In exchange, Keys and Mitchell directed purchase orders to the contractor’s company and confirmed delivery and payment for goods that the company did not provide. As a result of the bribery scheme, FEMS paid the company approximately $250,000 for goods that never were delivered. Keys personally collected at least $42,500 in bribes from the contractor.

            Law enforcement opened an investigation after FEMS officials discovered procurement anomalies and referred the matter to the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General and the FBI. Mitchell and Keys were arrested on February 10, 2022.

            This case was investigated by FBI’s Washington Field Office and D.C. Office of Inspector General.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Aloi and Christopher R. Howland in the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights section.