District Man Sentenced To 50 Years In Prison For Two Carjackings And Other Crimes-Defendant Attacked A Total Of Six Victims; Two Were Pistol-Whipped-

     WASHINGTON - Tavon Johnson, 24, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to a prison term of 50 years on armed carjacking and armed robbery charges involving multiple incidents spread over two separate days, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Johnson was found guilty by a jury in November 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, of two counts of armed carjacking, one count of assault with intent to rob while armed, four counts of armed robbery, one count of aggravated assault while armed and related additional offenses.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert I. Richter. 

     According to the government’s evidence, the series of crimes began at about 6:30 p.m. on Feb 26, 2013, when Johnson targeted a young woman parking her car in the 100 block of W Street NW. Wearing a mask, Johnson approached the woman, brandished a firearm, and demanded her car. 

     Johnson then used the victim’s car as he continued to commit other crimes that night. With the help of an accomplice, and while still masked, Johnson attempted to steal property from a man at about 9 p.m. in the 1700 block of 29th Street SE.  In the course of that crime, the victim was pistol-whipped by Johnson and his accomplice before breaking free.  Johnson and his accomplice then robbed two people at about 10 p.m. in the 4900 block of Jay Street NE.

     Johnson continued his crime spree at about 3 p.m. on March 2, 2013 when he and an accomplice, again wearing masks, targeted two young men packing up a pick-up truck in the 5100 block of Hunt Street NE. When the owner of the truck resisted giving his keys to Johnson and his accomplice, they pistol-whipped the victim, causing him to fall unconscious to the ground.  Before leaving the scene in the victim’s truck, Johnson and his accomplice took the victim’s cell phone, while he lay unconscious on the ground. They also took property from the other victim who just witnessed his friend fall to the ground. 

     Members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) spotted Johnson driving the stolen truck at about 8 that night. Johnson was arrested after he led the police on a high-speed car chase through multiple neighborhoods throughout the city.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department.  He also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Kalisha Johnson-Clark, Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Crystal Flournoy and Clayton O’Connor, who investigated and tried the case.