Four Teenagers Sentenced to Prison Terms For Series of Armed Robberies and Carjackings

Four Teenagers Sentenced to Prison Terms For Series of Armed Robberies and Carjackings

Four Teenagers Sentenced to Prison Terms For Series of Armed Robberies and Carjackings

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Columbia
29 February 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Crimes Took Place at Multiple Locations in April 2015

WASHINGTON – Four members of a violent crew, ages 16 through 18 and all from Washington, D.C., have been sentenced to prison terms on charges stemming from a series of armed robberies and carjackings that occurred in April 2015, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), announced today.

Between April 5 and April 30, 2015, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to commit armed robberies and carjackings. The criminal activities included armed robberies throughout the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Police Districts, as well as in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, Maryland. The defendants typically targeted convenience stores and taxicab drivers, wore masks and similar clothing, and used stolen cars to commit their crimes.

All told, the crimes included six robberies of various 7-Eleven stores in the District of Columbia and District Heights, Md.; the robbery of a restaurant in Northeast Washington; one armed carjacking in the District of Columbia and another in Temple Hills, Md.; two armed robberies of taxi drivers in the District of Columbia; and two high-speed chases throughout the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Through an extensive law enforcement investigation, the defendants were identified and taken into custody. On June 15, 2015, a grand jury returned a 24-count indictment. All four defendants pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in September 2015.

The Honorable Anita Josey-Herring sentenced the defendants on Feb. 26, 2016.

Kraig Brown, 17, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on two counts of armed robbery, one count of robbery, and two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle to facilitate a crime of violence. The Court suspended two years of Brown’s prison sentence on the condition that he completes a period of supervision.

Dayquan Gore, 18, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on one count of armed robbery, two counts of robbery, and one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle to facilitate a crime of violence. The Court suspended two years of Gore’s prison sentence on the condition that he completes a period of supervision.

Deangelo Johnson, 16, was sentenced to an 8 ½-year prison term on two counts of armed robbery and two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle to facilitate a crime of violence.

Davon Sullivan, 18, was sentenced to seven years in prison on one count of armed robbery and one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle to facilitate a crime of violence. The Court suspended three years of the prison time on the condition that Sullivan successfully completes a period of supervision.

All defendants were under 18 at the time they committed the crimes, and were charged as adults given the serious nature of their crimes.

At a three-hour sentencing hearing, Judge Josey-Herring heard tearful statements from the victims, including one who had suffered post-traumatic stress after being held up by the defendants. She stated that the defendants either lacked “empath[y]” or were “desperate or greedy.” Ultimately, she declared, they were “victims of [their] own foolishness and bravado.”

As part of their plea agreements, the defendants admitted participating in various crimes, including these incidents:

- Armed Robbery of Senior Citizen/Taxicab Driver, April 7, 2015: Brown, Johnson, and Gore pled guilty to crimes arising out of the armed robbery of a taxicab driver. On April 7, 2015, at approximately 10:10 p.m., in the 3500 block of Park Place NW, Brown, Johnson, and Gore were operating a Ford Fusion, which had been stolen two days earlier during a carjacking in Temple Hills, Md. They pulled up on the taxicab driver, who is a senior citizen, and approached him wearing face masks and armed with a black firearm or imitation. They trapped the victim, and he fell over trying to escape. Brown grabbed the victim’s Samsung tablet from him. The defendants all fled in the waiting Ford Fusion, which crashed into another vehicle 10 minutes later at Fifth and Florida Avenues NE. The defendants all fled on foot.

-Armed Robbery of 7-Eleven, April 21, 2015: Brown and Gore pled guilty to crimes arising out of the armed robbery of a 7-Eleven in the 4400 block of Benning Road NE. On April 21, 2015, in the early morning hours, Brown and Gore, along with a third individual, entered the store. Gore jumped over the counter and demanded that the store clerks open the cash registers. He pointed a black pistol or imitation gun at one of the clerks. The three robbers stole money, cigarettes, and cigarillos, fled the store, and were immediately picked up by a waiting, dark-colored, four-door sedan.

- Armed Carjacking of a Newspaper Delivery Man, April 21, 2015: Gore pled guilty to crimes arising from an armed carjacking that also occurred on April 21, 2015, at 4:07 a.m., minutes after the 7-Eleven armed robbery, in the 1900 block of R Street SE. The dark-colored, four-door sedan containing the perpetrators pulled onto the block and stopped near an idling tan Hyundai Santa Fe. The owner of the Santa Fe was delivering the morning newspaper to houses on the street and had stepped away to deliver some of the papers. One individual got out of the four-door sedan and attempted to enter the Hyundai Santa Fe. The victim saw this, and immediately ran back over to the car, grabbed the perpetrator and punched him in the face.

Thereafter, another individual exited the sedan and pointed a pistol at the victim. The victim ran and ducked for cover. All of the perpetrators fled the scene, some in the sedan and some in the Santa Fe. The stolen Hyundai Santa Fe was then used by the defendants to commit other armed robberies and eventually led police on a high speed chase throughout Washington, D.C. and into Prince George’s County, Md., during which the Santa Fe was crashed and abandoned. Gore was arrested the same day.

- Armed Robbery of 7-Eleven, April 30, 2015: Brown, Johnson, and Sullivan pled guilty to the armed robbery of another 7-Eleven, this one in the 300 block of Hawaii Avenue NE. On April 30, 2015, at approximately 2:40 a.m., the defendants arrived at the 7-Eleven in a black Chrysler 300, which had been stolen two days earlier during an armed robbery of yet another 7-Eleven store in Prince George’s County, Md. The defendants entered the convenience store wearing black face masks. Brown trained a silver pistol or imitation on the store clerks, while Johnson and Sullivan jumped over the counter, took money out of the cash register, and stole cigarettes and cigarillos. All three fled into the waiting black Chrysler 300.

- Armed Robbery of 7-Eleven, April 30, 2015: Brown, Johnson, and Sullivan pled guilty to crimes arising out of a second armed robbery on April 30, 2015 – this time at the 7-Eleven in the 1900 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE. At 2:55 a.m., the defendants, wearing identical clothes and face masks, entered the store armed with the same silver pistol or imitation. Brown again pointed a silver pistol at the store clerk and demanded he open the cash register. Johnson jumped over the counter and emptied the contents of the cash register. Sullivan first robbed a customer, and then jumped the counter and grabbed multiple packs of Newport cigarettes. All three fled the scene in the black Chrysler 300.

Later in the day on April 30, Brown and Johnson were in the Chrysler 300 when it led police on a high-speed chase throughout Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Brown was driving and eventually crashed the car, causing serious damage.

Gore was arrested on April 21, 2015. Brown and Johnson were arrested on May 1, 2015.Sullivan was arrested on June 7, 2015. They have been in custody ever since. As part of the plea agreements, the government dismissed charges against the defendants involving the other crimes charged in the indictment. The investigation into other suspects is ongoing.

In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Assistant Director in Charge Abbate, and Chief Lanier praised the work of the officers, detectives and crime scene technicians who worked on the case for the MPD. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Violent Crime Task Force of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which co-led the investigation, as well as the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County police departments, which provided valuable assistance. Finally, they commended the efforts of those who are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Luke M. Jones, who are prosecuting the matter.

Press Release Number:
16-034