News

Beverly Ochoa, 30, of Derwood, Maryland, was sentenced today to a 12-month suspended sentence for first-degree theft in the stealing of $2,600 cash from the elderly wife of a hospice patient, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Eric Council Jr., 26 of Athens, Alabama, was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy that hacked into the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and published fraudulent posts in the name of the then-SEC Chairman, all to manipulate the value of Bitcoin.

Jose Angel Gomez, 42, formerly of the District, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison, for three rapes he committed between July and October 2018 involving three different victims who were strangers to him, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Damien Jenkins, 35, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 151 months in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking organization known as the “21^st and Vietnam” crew. 

Dremale Vanterpool, 27, and Torrance Brock, 23, both of the District, have been indicted on federal firearms and drug trafficking charges following a 2023 high-speed vehicle pursuit and foot chase in the District, resulting in the recovery of loaded firearms, cocaine, fentanyl, and other evidence of drug distribution.

Meredith Wilson, 52, of the District, was found guilty on May 14, 2025, by a Superior Court jury of second degree, in the first jury trial in more than a decade in the District for a count of felony-enhanced second-degree theft, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Te’Vaughn Brown, 20, of the District, was indicted yesterday by a grand jury in the Superior Court for assault with significant bodily injury on a senior citizen, a felony charge, in connection with an unprovoked attack on an elderly man last summer at Navy Yard Metro Station, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

A four-count superseding indictment, unsealed today in U.S. District Court, charges 12 additional people – Americans and foreign nationals – for allegedly participating in a cyber-enabled racketeering conspiracy throughout the United States and abroad that netted them more than $263 million. Several were arrested this week in California, while two remain abroad and are believed to be living in Dubai. 

Rasheed Mullins, 27, and Josiah Warfield, 24, both of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 90 months and 100 months in prison, respectively, for participating in an April 2024 daylight drive-by shooting near an elementary school in Southeast D.C.

U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Jr. joined with other federal law enforcement leaders to announce today that as a result of a joint federal law enforcement initiative, authorities arrested 189 individuals following a joint federal immigration-related enforcement operation in the District of Columbia over the past week.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is pleased to announce its upcoming 15th Annual Anti Violence Youth Summit, titled ”Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful “ scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Doors will open at 9:00 a.m., and the program will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.

Jennifer Brunenkant, 68, the founder and former owner of Herbal Alternatives II, LLC, a marijuana dispensary licensed in the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty today in connection with her years-long failure to pay federal income and employment taxes associated with her business.