D.C. Man Pleads Guilty to Pointing a Gun at Taxi Driver

            WASHINGTON – Erick Blanco-Cordova, 24, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to pointing a firearm at a taxicab driver in November 2019, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            Blanco-Cordova pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of carrying a pistol without a license. The Honorable Judge Robert Salerno scheduled sentencing for March 18, 2026.

            Blanco-Cordova’s codefendant, Lesly Taracena, was found guilty by a jury in April 2025 of conspiracy to commit an armed crime of violence, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and other related charges, and was sentenced to five years in prison in June 2025.

            According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 6:55 p.m., on November 11, 2019, Blanco-Cordova  and Taracena were picked up in Arlington, Virginia by the victim, a taxicab driver, and asked to be taken to Union Station in Washington, D.C. The victim drove the defendants to the corner of 7^th and F Street, NW, at which point Blanco-Cordova and Taracena exited the victim’s taxicab without paying their fare. The victim followed them and asked them to pay. Taracena turned around and pulled a firearm out of her pocket, pointing it at the victim while Blanco-Cordova stood next to her. The victim ran away in fear. When MPD stopped the defendants, they found a 40 caliber Smith and Wesson SD40VE semi-automatic handgun on Blanco-Cordova.

            Blanco-Cordova was arrested in Maryland in March 2025 on weapons charges and has been in custody ever since.

            This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katerina Qesari.

            The co-defendant Lesly Taracena was prosecuted by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Skopicki and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katerina Qesari.

            2019 CF3 014456