Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Defendant Also Faces Charge of 2nd Degree Cruelty to Children

            WASHINGTON – A superseding indictment charges Darnell Lamont Savoy, 24, of Washington D.C., with charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, possession of a large-capacity feeding device, and second-degree cruelty to children.

            The charges contained in a federal indictment, docketed on February 15, 2024, are in addition to a case charged in Superior Court in connection with the 2018 shooting of a 14-year-old child, and a subsequent 2022 stabbing that Savoy allegedly committed while under indictment –  and on pretrial release – for the shooting, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            An arraignment for Savoy is scheduled for April 26, 2024, before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly.

            In 2021, Savoy was released from custody, over the government’s written and oral objections, and put on home confinement while awaiting trial on assault with intent to kill while armed and related offenses stemming from the 2018 shooting. According to court documents, on October 11, 2022, Savoy allegedly stabbed a person during an argument and fled the scene. Investigators tracked Savoy to the 3900 block of Southern Avenue, SE. On the morning of October 21, 2022, MPD officers and FBI agents executed a search warrant at an apartment unit on the block, where Savoy was staying with a woman and a 3-year-old child. During the search, law enforcement found a plastic bag containing 4.55 grams of an off-white powder, a digital scale with white powder residue, a red cut straw with white powder residue, and a two-pack of naloxone. The powder and the residues tested positive for fentanyl.

            In a blue camo jacket, investigators discovered 27 zip baggies with an off-white powder weighing a total of 7.3 grams, 29 blue bills stamped M30, 16 red zip baggies containing an off-white powder weighing nearly 5 grams, and $473 in U.S. currency. The powders tested positive for fentanyl. The jacket also contained Savoy’s driver’s license, Visa credit card, and Costco membership card. In a hall closet, on top of a dryer, officers discovered a loaded, unregistered, semi-automatic Glock 30, with 23 rounds in a 30 round capacity magazine. DNA testing linked Savoy to the firearm. DNA from the woman living in the apartment could not be linked to the firearm. The fentanyl recovered during the search warrant was located in a common area of the apartment that the three-year-old had access to, which could have led to the overdose of the child.

            The charges of assault with intent to kill while armed with a firearm and other counts stem from the 2018 shooting of a 14-year-old. The victim had been sitting in a car with his father, when Savoy drove up with two other men who began shooting, believing the vehicle contained individuals involved in the murder of a member of Savoy’s crew. Trial in that case is scheduled to begin in April of 2024.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Long and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Stempel. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Hart and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Rasalam.

            The charges are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.