District Man Pleads Guilty To Armed Robbery, Admits Stealing Dog From Woman At Gunpoint-Defendant Told Victim: “Yorkies Cost A Lot Of Money”-

     WASHINGTON – Christopher Young, 18, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to a charge of armed robbery stemming from an attack earlier this year in which he stole a dog from a woman at gunpoint, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

     Young pled guilty on March 22, 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Robert I. Richter scheduled sentencing for May 20, 2013. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison.

     According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 5, 2013, at about 10:35 a.m., Young approached a woman who was walking her Yorkshire Terrier in the area of Fifth and Kennedy Streets NE. Young displayed a handgun and said, “Give me your dog.  Yorkies cost a lot of money.” He then grabbed the victim’s dog and ran toward Chillum Place NE. 

     The victim, who yelled for help, noticed that Young dropped his phone on Kennedy Street directly next to where the dog’s leash had dropped.  While Young continued running, the dog escaped and ran to its home.  Officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) determined that the dropped phone belonged to Young, and learned that he had a GPS device on his ankle.  Police obtained Young’s GPS records, which placed him directly in the area of 5th and Kennedy at the time of the robbery as well as in the flight path described by witnesses.  

     In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen commended those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Debra McPherson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalia Medina, who is prosecuting the case.