FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 10, 2023

            WASHINGTON – Daron Cottingham, 20, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison, with two years suspended, for two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence or dangerous crime and one count carjacking that stem from crimes he committed in January of 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Robert J. Contee, III, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Errol Arthur ordered two years of supervised probation and 90 hours of community service. The sentence was rendered as part of the Youth Rehabilitation Act.

            According to court documents, on January 18, 2022, Cottingham, approached a person cleaning a BMW vehicle in the rear of 316 34th Street, NE, Washington DC. Cottingham took out a firearm and demanded the vehicle keys from the victim. The defendant then struck the victim once in the nose with the firearm, causing bleeding. The defendant took the vehicle keys and the victim’s phone before driving away in the BMW.

            Just over a week later, on January 28, 2022, the defendant booked a ride through Lyft. When the Lyft reached the intersection of I-295 and the 11th Street Bridge, the defendant pulled out a firearm, aimed it at the driver’s head, and demanded that the driver exit the vehicle. The victim fled from the vehicle, at which point Cottingham took control of the vehicle and took off. The defendant then led MPD on a chase, pursued by MPD cruisers and a helicopter. He eventually drove the vehicle to the 2600 block of Birney Place SE, where he ditched the vehicle while it was still moving. The vehicle continued on until it hit a snowbank. The defendant ran into an apartment building located in the 2600 block of Birney Place SE. After entering the building, Cottingham concealed his firearm. MPD officers arrived at the building shortly thereafter and arrested the defendant.

            At the time of his arrest, the defendant had bank and identification cards belonging to the Lyft driver. MPD officers also recovered a ring of car keys, one of which was a BMW key that matched the BMW taken by the defendant in the January 18th offense. MPD officers also recovered the firearm.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of the officers and detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department who conducted the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Wang, with the office’s Violence Reduction Trafficking Section who prosecuted the case.