Thursday, April 11, 2024

Indictment Alleges Spree of Gunpoint Robberies in D.C. and Maryland

            WASHINGTON – A 14-count indictment, filed in U.S. District Court, charges three District men in a spree of armed carjackings and commercial gunpoint robberies within Washington D.C. and suburban Maryland in March of 2024. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.

            Kanard Bishop, 26, Edward LeRoy Brown, 24, and Khalil Boyd, 18, are charged with conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (aka “Hobbs Act” robbery); carjacking; using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and aiding and abetting.

            According to court documents, the defendants targeted fast-food restaurants, convenience stores, and package delivery vehicles, and would work together to arrange for a car to be used to commit the robberies, either by carjacking or arranging the use of an associate’s vehicle. The indictment, filed April 10, 2024, alleges that on March 17, 2024, law enforcement responded to a report of an armed carjacking of a Mercedes Benz on the 4300 block of Southern Ave., SE, in which the perpetrators took the victims’ car, phones, wallet, and cash.

            It is further alleged that, between 3 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on March 20, 2024, law enforcement received numerous reports of attempted armed robberies and carjackings including: around 3 a.m., at a McDonald’s restaurant in Capitol Heights, Maryland, where two masked, armed suspects climbed through a drive-thru window and attempted to open the register by pressing random buttons but were unsuccessful; less than an hour later, a carjacking on the unit block of 35th Street, NE, in which the owner of the car reported that three armed gunmen had just taken his 2018 Dodge Durango; at 4:11 a.m., an armed robbery at a Denny’s Restaurant on the 4400 block of Benning Road in which the employee couldn’t open the cash register so the gunmen ripped the register off the counter and fled; at 4:59 a.m., an attempted armed robbery at  McDonald’s on the 7700 block of Landover Road, Landover, Maryland, in which one of the gunmen attempted to climb through the drive thru window but was pushed back out by the cashier; at 5:03 a.m., at a 7-Eleven on the 7500 block of Landover Road, where two armed gunmen entered and demanded cash; and at 5:26 a.m., a robbery at a 24hr market on the 5200 block of Marlboro Pike, District Heights in which the gunmen stole money and retail products.

            On March 27, 2024, at 8:47, Prince George’s County police were called to Brooks Drive in District Heights, Maryland, for a reported carjacking of a 2022 Dodge Challenger. At 12:09 p.m., two men robbed a FedEx delivery truck at Burns and G Streets, SE. The armed men took several packages from the interior of the truck, robbed the FedEx employees of their personal belongings, and fled. The robbery was captured on surveillance cameras mounted inside and on the exterior of the truck.

            On March 28, 2024, detectives working with the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Carjacking Interdiction Unit were conducting surveillance on a carjacked 2022 Dodge Challenger in District Heights. The Challenger stopped directly in front of a Game Stop store on the 5700 block of Silver Hill Road. Two men, later identified as Bishop and Brown, aka “Shiesty,” exited the vehicle. A man later identified as Boyd, aka “Lil Bill,” was behind the wheel. As detectives prepared to conduct a tactical block of the Challenger, they realized that two men were committing a robbery of the Game Stop. Detectives moved in shouting loud verbal commands. Bishop and Brown fled through the emergency exit at the rear with their firearms displayed. Detectives caught Bishop after a short foot pursuit. They recovered a loaded .40 caliber Glock 22 at the scene. Brown ran with a gun in his hand. A detective fired at Brown, striking him in the lower torso. Detectives recovered a .40 caliber “ghost gun” loaded with nine rounds. Boyd led police on a chase which ended after he crashed and tried to flee on foot.

             The case is being investigated by the FBI Washington’s Violent Crime Task Force and the MPD Carjacking Task Force with significant assistance from the Prince George’s County Police Department.

It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Jackson and Omeed Assefi, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Toth.

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