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Press Release

District Man Sentenced To More Than 12 Years In Prison For Northwest Washington Home Invasion-Police Catch Defendant In Front Of The Home With Stolen Property-

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia

     WASHINGTON – Shawn A. Thomas, 42, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to more than 12 years in prison following his conviction on burglary and other charges in a home invasion in Northwest Washington, DC, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Thomas was found guilty by a jury in December 2012 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of first-degree burglary, first-degree theft, receiving stolen property, and destruction of property.  The Honorable Heidi M. Pasichow sentenced him to 10 years in prison on the burglary charge and imposed shorter concurrent sentences on the theft and property-related offenses.  Judge Pasichow also sentenced Thomas to an additional 28 months for committing these crimes while on release in an unrelated second-degree theft case.

     According to the government’s evidence, on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, at about 7 a.m., several intruders threw a rock through a window and entered a single-family residence in the 3900 block of Reno Road NW. The victim was home alone at the time. After hearing the glass break, and hearing voices, he barricaded himself in the bathroom and called 911.

     The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded within minutes. When they arrived, they found Thomas seated in a car in front of the burglarized home and various items belonging to the victim and his family - including a DVD player, stereo components, cordless telephones, and jewelry -  in the back seat of the vehicle.  Inside Thomas’s pocket, MPD officers also found the victim’s paging device. It had been on a bedside dresser at the time of the home invasion.

     The victim and his family had just moved into this home only days before the burglary, and the other family members were visiting relatives out of town at the time of the crime.

     “Thanks to the victim’s quick thinking and the fast response by police, this defendant was arrested and brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Home invasions are as dangerous as they are terrifying, and the community is safer with this defendant in prison.”

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the MPD officers and detectives who investigated the case. He also praised the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Catherine Bouldin, who assisted in preparing the case for trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kravis who secured the indictment in the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Andrew Chambers, who tried the case to the jury.  The Assistant U.S. Attorneys are assigned to the Second and Third District Unit of the Superior Court Felony Major Crimes Section.

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Updated February 19, 2015