WASHINGTON - A 27-year-old District of Columbia man, Andrew Wallace-Mayo, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for the robbery and murder of 19-year-old Bobby Johnson in 2006, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Wallace-Mayo received his sentence on Friday, November 7, 2008, before the Honorable Neal E. Kravitz. On September 4, 2008, following a week-long trial, a Superior Court jury found the defendant guilty of first degree felony murder, armed robbery, and related charges.

According to the government's evidence at trial, on the evening of September 26, 2006, Bobby Johnson was playing craps with a few friends behind the Frederick Douglas Community Center in the 2000 block of Alabama Avenue, SE. The defendant approached the group, pulled out a handgun, and threatened to shoot anyone that moved. Mr. Johnson attempted to run. The defendant then shot him one time in the back. Three other young men who were there with Mr. Johnson froze after seeing their friend get shot. The defendant then grabbed one of them and threatened to shoot him too if they did not give him what he wanted. The defendant then robbed them of their pants, cell phones, and approximately $20. Bobby Johnson died on October 8, 2006, from complications caused by the gunshot wound to his back.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Jeffery Taylor praised the work of the following MPD personnel: Officers Ralph Nitz, Sherman Roberts, Janine Leftwich, Calvin Hopkins, and Detectives Wayne Marable, Dwayne Corbett, Walter Fleming, and Joshua Branson. He also commended the efforts of Paralegal Sandra Lane and Legal Assistants Nadiyyah Ishman and Alycia Alfred. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty, who investigated and prosecuted the case.