Matao Henderson, 27, Convicted of Robbery on Benning Road, Northeast
Government photo exhibit. Photo of Glock 30.
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
WASHINGTON – A federal jury convicted Naquel Matao Henderson, 27, of Washington, D.C., of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, robbery, and unlawful possession of Oxycodone following a six-day trial, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
This case is part of Make D.C. Safe Again, a public safety initiative led by U.S. Attorney Martin that is surging resources to reduce violent crime in the District of Columbia. This initiative was created to address gun violence in the District, prioritize federal firearms violations, pursue tougher penalties for offenders, and seek detention for federal firearms violators.
United States District Judge Timothy J. Kelly scheduled Henderson’s sentencing for July 3, 2025. Henderson had been detained since his arrest in this case.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Henderson rode an electric scooter into traffic at approximately 2:16 pm on June 24, 2024, colliding with a car that had the green light. Following a brief argument, Henderson pushed the woman whose car he hit and violently snatched a cross-body satchel from her person before fleeing. Both the collision and the robbery were captured on overhead surveillance cameras. Numerous individuals witnessed the robbery, including an MPD Commander who issued an emergency call for assistance.
A responding MPD patrol officer attempted to detain Henderson for the robbery, at which point he turned and ran. Both the patrol officer and the MPD Commander, who had made the emergency call, chased Henderson into an alley, where they observed that he was carrying a handgun. The patrol officer tackled Henderson and wrestled the firearm away, and the MPD Commander secured it. Additional officers responded to the scene, and Henderson was eventually taken into custody. The firearm was determined to be a .45 caliber Glock loaded with one round in the chamber and fourteen rounds in the magazine.
A search of Henderson’s person after his arrest revealed that he was carrying a total of fifty (50) 10mg Oxycodone pills. The pills were manufactured by two different companies and were stored in two different pill bottles – neither of which listed Henderson as the prescribed user of the Oxycodone.
Prior to his arrest in this case, Henderson had been convicted of felony offenses in both the D.C. Superior Court and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and he was therefore prohibited by law from possessing a firearm. At the time of his arrest, Henderson was also on pretrial release in D.C. Superior Court, where he was charged with numerous violent offenses, including conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder while armed.
This case was investigated by MPD officers and detectives. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shehzad Akhtar and James B. Nelson and Paralegal Specialist Melissa Macechko.