District Man Pleads Guilty to Carjacking in Northeast Washington

            WASHINGTON – Donald Thompson, 23, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to charges stemming from a carjacking that took place earlier this year in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.

            Thompson pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges of carjacking, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a sentence of seven years in prison. The Honorable Zoe Bush scheduled sentencing for March 24, 2017.

            According to the government’s evidence, on March 26, 2016, at approximately 11 p.m., Thompson and an accomplice approached the victim in the area of 16^th and Gales Streets NE. The victim was waiting for a friend just outside a 2016 Dodge Ram truck that he rented earlier that day.  The victim’s dirt bike was strapped into the back of truck. Thompson and his accomplice asked about the dirt bike and then walked away. 

            Moments later, however, Thompson and his accomplice returned to the scene. The accomplice pointed what appeared to be a dark-colored semiautomatic handgun at the victim, and Thompson snatched an iPhone from the victim’s hands.  Thompson then entered the Dodge Ram and drove away, making a right onto Gales Street.  The accomplice stayed with the victim, holding him at gunpoint and robbing him of approximately $1,000. 

            Minutes after the robbery and carjacking, Thompson and his accomplice met up in the 2000 block of D Street NE, where they attempted to remove the dirt bike from the Dodge Ram, leaving their fingerprints on the truck’s tailgate.   After attempting, unsuccessfully, to remove the dirt bike, Thompson and his accomplice abandoned the Dodge Ram and the dirt bike. 

            Thompson was arrested on July 12, 2016 after his fingerprints were found on the Dodge Ram. He has remained in custody ever since. 

            Thompson’s alleged accomplice, 24, is awaiting trial on multiple counts, including conspiracy, armed carjacking, and armed robbery. 

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Barker, who investigated and prosecuted the case.