
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
For Information Contact:
Public Affairs
(202) 252-6933
http://www.justice.gov/usao/dc/index.html
Two Men Sentenced to Prison Terms for Kidnapping While Armed
And Other Charges in 2011 Armed Home Invasion
- Two Victims Were Bound During Attack in Northwest Washington -
WASHINGTON – James Walker, 34, and Anthony Richardson, 25, both of Washington, D.C., have been sentenced to prison terms on charges stemming from an armed home invasion last year in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
Both men were convicted in May 2012 of kidnapping while armed and other charges, following a jury trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Michael Ryan sentenced them on July 24, 2012. Judge Ryan sentenced Walker to 19 years and eight months in prison and he sentenced Richardson to 11 years and seven months in prison.
At trial, the evidence showed that Walker and Richardson, who were armed with a handgun, attacked a man in the early-morning hours of Nov. 20, 2011, in the alley outside a boarding house in the 600 block of Florida Avenue NW. They then forced the victim inside the house, where they beat him, splitting open his ear, and removed his pants and tied his hands.
A resident of one the apartments inside the boarding house heard the noise and called the police. While she was on the 911 call, Walker and Richardson began to force her door open. When they broke into the room, they dragged in the male victim, threatened the female victim with a gun, and ultimately bound her as well.
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers responded and knocked on the apartment door. Walker then untied the female victim, ordered her into bed with him, and ordered her to lie to the police. When the police refused to leave, Walker sent the female victim to the door to tell the police to go away. The female victim, however, used that chance to escape. Police entered the room and apprehended both defendants, and obtained medical treatment for the male victim, who was lying on the floor and was bound, bloody, and semi-conscious. Police recovered the weapon used by the defendants on the ground outside the window, with blood on it.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to those who investigated the case from the MPD. He also commended the work of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Allison Daniels, Victim Witness Specialist Jennifer Clark, Litigation Support Specialists Joseph Calvarese and Kimberly Smith. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Lewis and Lauren Dickie, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rickard, who prosecuted the case, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Dickie, at trial.
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