Kelon Von Dukes, Twice Convicted Felon Indicted for Alleged Possession of a 9 mm Pistol
Friday, March 14, 2025
WASHINGTON - An indictment was unsealed yesterday in federal court in Washington D.C. charging Kelon Von Dukes, 20, with being a convicted felon in illegal possession a firearm and ammunition.
The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward Martin Jr., Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
According to court documents, on March 1, 2025, at 5:25 p.m., members of the MPD’s Seventh District Special Missions Unit were on patrol in the Seventh District. They were in full uniform in a fully marked cruiser near 4700 South Capitol Street SE. As officers drove on the 400 Block of Southern Avenue SE, they observed a man standing near a gas station smoking what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette. When the man noticed the officers, he allegedly fled and tossed the cigarette and a black bag.
Officers pursued and apprehended the man on the 400 block of Southern Avenue. During a pat-down, an officer noted a solid, L-shaped object in the man’s left front pocket. It is alleged that the object was a loaded semi-automatic pistol that had been reported stolen.
The man later was identified as Kelon Von Dukes, who has two prior felony convictions for carrying a pistol without a license and was on supervised probation at the time of his March 1 arrest.
On March 11, Dukes was ordered to be detained pending trial by Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey.
This case is being investigated by the MPD and the ATF. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle McWaters.
The case is being prosecuted as part of Make D.C. Safe Again, a public safety initiative led by U.S. Attorney Martin to address gun violence in the District of Columbia.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
View Dukes Indictment here: