Washington, D.C. – Joseph Russell, a 57-year-old resident of the District of Columbia, has been found guilty of first degree burglary while armed, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with significant injuries, carrying a dangerous weapon, and violation of a civil protection order all stemming from an attack he committed upon his former girlfriend and another man on March 1 and March 2, 2007, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

A jury found Russell guilty of the charges yesterday afternoon in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The jury also found Russell guilty of failing to appear in court in an earlier domestic violence matter. Russell is scheduled to be sentenced on August 28, 2008, before the Honorable Hiram Puig-Lugo. Under the voluntary sentencing guidelines, Russell faces a minimum sentence of 126 months’ incarceration.

The government’s evidence at trial established that, despite a civil protection order providing that he could not do so, the defendant entered the Northwest D.C. home of his former girlfriend sometime after 11:30 p.m. on March 1, 2007. In an effort to confront his former girlfriend, the defendant attempted to sneak past two individuals sitting in the home’s living room. When the two individuals saw Russell, Russell pointed a pistol at one of them and ordered him to sit. Russell then demanded that the two individuals summon Russell’s former girlfriend to the living room. When Russell’s former girlfriend came to the living room, she attempted to coax him peaceably to leave the home. However, when the two of them reached the family’s kitchen, the defendant struck his former girlfriend several times with his pistol, causing injuries that required emergency medical attention.

In announcing the jury’s verdict, U.S. Attorney Taylor expressed his appreciation to the Metropolitan Police Department, and particularly praised the work of Detective Derek Bell. The U.S. Attorney also commended the work of Legal Intern Jessica Urban; Legal Assistant Tiffany Jones; Paralegal Jason Manuel; Victim Advocate Marcia Rinker; Assistant U.S. Attorney Renata Cooper, who indicted the case; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Spiegelhalter, who prosecuted the case at trial.