District Man Pleads Guilty to Felon in Possession Charge

            WASHINGTON -- Kenneth Hart, 25, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty on January 30, 2024,  to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

            Hart entered the guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 17, 2024.  The defendant has been detained since November 1, 2023.

            According to the government’s evidence, on November 1, 2023, at approximately 5:30 p.m. law enforcement were at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. and Mellon Street, Southeast, Washington, D.C. The defendant, Kenneth Hart was inside a restaurant, exited and started walking towards Malcolm X Ave., Southeast. Law enforcement followed behind and the defendant then turned a corner and entered into a liquor store.  Law enforcement entered the store saw the defendant at the rear in front of a refrigerator with the door open. The defendant’s hand were inside the refrigerator as he was placing a firearm on the left side of the refrigerator. The defendant was placed under arrest and officers recovered a Springfield Armory XDS-9 firearm that was loaded with 9 millimeter ammunition.  There was one round in the chamber and there were six bullets in the magazine.

            The case was investigated by the MPD and ATF as part of Project Safe Neighborhood. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shehzad Akhtar.