Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Incident Occurred in January 2023

            WASHINGTON – Cynthia Battle, 54, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to stabbing a man to death on January 16, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Battle pleaded in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of voluntary manslaughter. The Honorable Michael O’Keefe accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for November 17, 2023.

            According to the government’s evidence, on January 15, 2023, Cynthia Battle and two friends drove from their homes in North Carolina to visit a friend in Washington DC. The following day, the decedent, Raymond Johnson, joined them all at the friend’s house. At approximately 11:45 pm on January 16, 2023, Battle, Johnson, and a witness walked together down Minnesota Ave. Southeast, to purchase crack cocaine. While outside on the street, and in the midst of this drug transaction, Battle was captured on surveillance camera lunging towards Johnson. Battle, Johnson, and the witness then quickly separated, walking in opposite directions. Minutes later, a 911 caller found Johnson further down the street. Johnson was laying face down and unconscious, bleeding from a single stab wound to his chest.

            The sole eyewitness to the stabbing immediately drove back to North Carolina, leaving Battle behind. Battle caught her own ride back to North Carolina the next day, after which she absconded. Members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) worked with members of the Halifax County Sherriff’s Office to locate and interview the witness within days of the stabbing. The witness initially claimed not to have seen anything, but later admitted to seeing a flash of silver in Battle’s hand as Battle struck Johnson in the chest. Law enforcement from these two jurisdictions also worked together to search Battle’s home, where they found the clothing she wore on the night of the murder. Battle was arrested in March 2023, and has been in custody ever since. 

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the cooperation from the Halifax County Sherriff’s Office, and acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Latrice Washington-Williams and Paralegal Specialist Lauren Douglas. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Lindhorst, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Baltazar Gutierrez Carrillo, 50, of Ft. Washington, Maryland, was arrested Wednesday on charges stemming from a 2017 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, in 2017, the 30-year old victim was visiting D.C. and socializing with friends. At some point, the victim parted ways with his friends and began walking to where he was staying. The defendant, Gutierrez Carrillo, who was a stranger to the victim, encountered him and sexually assaulted him in an alley. When the victim was able to get away, he reported immediately and obtained a sexual assault examination including a rape kit. The rape kit was tested and a foreign male profile was entered in CODIS with no results.

            In 2023, MPD received notice of a DNA hit in a database linking defendant Gutierrez Carrillo to the 2017 rape kit. On July 12, 2023, the grand jury returned an indictment charging the defendant with one count of First Degree Sexual Abuse and one count of Second Degree Sexual Abuse. The defendant was brought to D.C. by the U.S. Marshals Service and, on September 6, 2023, was booked by MPD on the charges. On September 7, 2023, Gutierrez Carrillo was arraigned before the Honorable Anthony C. Epstein. A detention hearing is scheduled for September 29, 2023.

            This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department with valuable assistance from the U.S. Marshal’s Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Zubrensky.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant smashed glass of the Senate Wing Door windowpane and window, allowing the mob to climb into Capitol Building

            WASHINGTON – A Pennsylvania man was found guilty in the District of Columbia today of ten felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions 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.

            Leo Brent Bozell IV, 44, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was found guilty of 10 charges, including five felonies. The verdict followed a bench trial before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for January 9, 2024.

            According to the government’s evidence, Bozell attended the rally at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, then proceeded to the Capitol grounds. Bozell, also known as Zeeker, was wearing a red and white hat and a distinctive blue sweatshirt emblazoned with “Hershey Christian Academy” across the front. Bozell was caught on video and in photos Bozell ransacking inside the U.S. Capitol.

            After the rally, the Bozell marched with the crowd to the Capitol grounds and made his way past police barriers. Bozell approached the Northwest Stairs, lined with bike racks and police officers trying to prevent the mob from accessing the Capitol. Bozell used a bike rack as a makeshift ladder to ascend to the landing platform. Once there, Bozell waved others up the steps as he stood face-to-face with United States Capitol Police (USCP). While at the front of the mob,  another rioter coordinated the crowd by yelling, “ARE YOU READY TO PUSH? LET’S PUSH! . . . PUSH!” The rioters – Bozell at front – barreled through the police line. Once at the top of the stairs, the mob overtook another police line, gaining a path to the Capitol building.

            When Bozell reached the Senate Wing doors, Bozell bashed an exterior windowpane ten times with a hard object, causing it to crack and break. Bozell moved a couple feet over to another window directly north of the Senate Wing Door, and bashed that window eleven times until glass shattered. At about 2:15 p.m., Bozell, with scores of other rioters, clambered through the window that he helped break.

            Bozell and other rioters marched towards the Senate Wing as nearby Senate staffers hurried away from the mob. A USCP officer respond to the breach. The mob, Bozell included, chased the officer up a staircase. The responding officer led the rioters into the Ohio Clock Corridor where a line of other officers awaited. Bozell separated from the group and made his way down a hall and entered a meeting room for Senators.

            Around that time, two USCP Officers checking rooms for staffers in hiding discovered Bozell in the room. The officers escorted Bozell out, and he rejoined the rioters in the Ohio Clock Corridor and walked deeper into the Capitol building eventually making his way to the Office of the Speaker of the Senate, Nancy Pelosi. As he exited the Speaker’s office, Bozell appeared to be carrying something in his hand. He proceeded to the Rotunda doors where he joined the rioters to force the doors open, allowing another flood of rioters into the building.

            Soon after, Bozell was videoed on the balcony of the U.S. Senate Chamber. As the mob chanted “Treason! Treason!” Bozell unpacked a bag that he found filled with emergency supplies. While still in the Senate Gallery, he climbed over railings and reached a pair of CSPAN cameras. Bozell pointed one camera at the ground, obstruction its recording ability, just as rioters made it to the Senate Floor. Bozell made it to the Senate floor shortly thereafter.

            Bozell left the Capitol Building at 3:07 p.m. having spent almost an hour inside.

            Bozell was arrested on Feb. 21, 2021, in Palmyra, Pennsylvania.

            On April 26, 2023, a grand jury returned a ten-count indictment charging Bozell with five felonies: obstructing an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; two counts of destruction of government property and aiding and abetting; civil disorder; and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; as well as various misdemeanors, including entering and remaining in a restricted building and grounds.

            The felony obstruction charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties. The misdemeanor offenses carry a combined statutory maximum of 3 ½ years of incarceration and potential financial penalties. 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. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Harrisburg Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

         In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,146 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 398 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

            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 – An 18-count indictment, filed today in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, charges Shamell Naquan Joyner, 35, of the District of Columbia, with offenses arising out of an armed carjacking and six armed Hobbs Act robberies allegedly committed between April 12 and May 2, 2023. The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            According to the indictment, on April 12, 2023, Joyner committed an armed Hobbs Act robbery at the Falcon Fuel gas station and convenience store, located at 1301 13th Street Northwest, stealing money and personal property from the business and two employees while holding them at gunpoint. Joyner also is alleged to have discharged his firearm at two store employees during this robbery, neither of whom was wounded. (The government’s evidence connects this armed robbery to an April 17 armed robbery of an Alexandria, Virginia, 7-Eleven, in which Joyner is also alleged to have discharged his firearm. A store employee working at the time of the Alexandria robbery sustained a non–life threatening gunshot wound to his leg.)

            One day after the Falcon Fuel robbery, on April 13, Joyner is alleged to have carjacked a man at gunpoint in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood. Joyner allegedly stole the man’s Honda HR-V and drove it across state lines into Virginia. The government’s evidence shows that Joyner used that car to commit subsequent armed robbery offenses, including an April 15, 2023, armed robbery of the 7-Eleven store at 1100 Vermont Avenue Northwest, in which an employee was held at gunpoint.

            On April 30, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the 7-Eleven store at 7401 Georgia Avenue Northwest and an employee, again at gunpoint. Joyner allegedly robbed another two stores at gunpoint the next day, including the 7‑Eleven store at 1325 2nd Street Northeast and the 721 Shop & Run and an employee at 721 H Street Northeast.

            Finally, on May 2, 2023, Joyner is alleged to have robbed the 7-Eleven store at 1645 Connecticut Avenue Northwest and an employee, also at gunpoint. Joyner then allegedly committed additional armed robberies in Maryland, including a 7-Eleven store in Montgomery County and an Exxon gas station and employee in Anne Arundel County. During the Exxon robbery, Joyner is alleged to have held the Exxon employee at gunpoint and robbed him of the keys to his Toyota RAV4, which Joyner then stole and drove across state lines into the District of Columbia. 

            Later that day, in the 400 block of Condon Terrace SE, the Metropolitan Police Department found Joyner in the stolen RAV4’s driver’s seat and arrested him without incident. At the time of his arrest, Joyner was in possession of the firearm used in the armed robberies committed between April 30 and May 2, as well as unique clothing and other evidence that tied him to numerous offenses.

            Joyner has been detained since his May 2, 2023, arrest.

            “These alleged crimes left numerous victims, store employees, and witnesses terrorized,” said U.S. Attorney Graves.  “Those who are driving these pattern and spree robberies in our community need to know that they will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

            The indictment charges Joyner with 18 counts: six counts of interference with commerce by robbery (also known as “Hobbs Act” robbery), which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; one count of carjacking, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; seven related counts of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; two counts of interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and/or ammunition, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Under the indictment, Joyner faces a mandatory minimum of 52 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering applicable sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Violent Crime Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Alexandria City, Anne Arundel County, Fairfax County, and Prince George’s County Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Paul V. Courtney and Justin F. Song of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            The investigation into these offenses and potentially related armed robberies of commercial establishments located in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia remains ongoing.  Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

            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

Defendant Committed a String of Crimes in One Day

            WASHINGTON – Roscoe Rosborough, 32, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for two separate assaults that took place on the same day in Northeast and Northwest DC, in February of 2023, announced 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 Acting Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Rosborough pleaded guilty in June 9, 2023, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault with significant bodily injury.

            According to the government’s evidence, on February 17, 2023, at approximately 4:55 a.m., the defendant entered a homeless shelter, though he was not a resident, and demanded to use the bathroom. After being refused, he continued into the shelter and ran into a resident walking to the cafeteria for breakfast. The defendant pulled out a tire iron from inside his clothing and struck the resident multiple times to the head, causing a laceration to the head that required nine staples.

            At approximately 3:30 p.m. that same day, the defendant was on a metro train headed for the Gallery Place – Chinatown station. He approached an elderly couple with their three minor grandchildren visiting from out of town. He got into their faces, unprovoked, and began yelling profanities at them. The 78-year-old grandfather put his hand on the defendant’s arm and said, “back off pal.” The defendant then assaulted the man, punching him, pulling him to the floor, and kicking him. This assault caused the victim to require multiple knee-drains and eventually surgery to his knee.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, SAC Jacobs, and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, specifically Special Agent Deborah Frye, Special Agent John Perren, and Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who assisted with the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Gauri Gopal and Victim/Witness Advocates Lakeisha McFall, Jennifer Clark, and Paola Molina.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katie Sessa and Katrenia Shelly, who investigated and prosecuted the case.