IN THE COURTS | District Man Sentenced to 16 Months in Prison for Firearms Offense

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 12, 2022

Defendant Broadcast Live Footage with Weapon

            WASHINGTON – Azriel Echavarria, 20, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to 16 months in prison on a firearms charge, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Echavarria pleaded guilty in April 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to carrying a pistol without a license. He was sentenced on Sept. 9, 2022, by the Honorable J. Michael Ryan. Following his prison term, he will be placed on years of supervised release.

            On March 10, 2022, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department observed as Echavarria broadcast live footage of himself on Instragram Live as he waved a gun around inside an apartment in the 800 block of Kenilworth Avenue NE. MPD officers placed Echavarria under arrest after he left the apartment and executed a search warrant to recover the firearm, a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol. Police also recovered ammunition and drugs from the apartment, which was not Echavarria’s home or place of business. At the time of the offense, Echavarria was on probation for Maryland convictions of burglary and illegal gun possession. He has been held since his arrest.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlos A. Valdivia, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.