District Man Sentenced To 20 Months In Prison For Taking Part In Robbery In Northeast Washington-Defendant Stole Victim’s Sneakers-

     WASHINGTON – Junior Josephson, 18, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to a 20-month prison term for his role in a robbery last fall of an acquaintance in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

     Josephson pled guilty to robbery in December 2012 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced on Feb. 14, 2013 by the Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. Upon completion of his prison term, Josephson will be placed on three years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, Josephson knew the 22-year-old victim well, having grown up in the same neighborhood.  On Oct. 21, 2012, at about 2:30 p.m., Josephson was with four assailants who jumped on top of the victim in the 500 block of Emerson Street NE. The four knocked the victim to the ground, and began punching and kicking him. Josephson pulled off the victim’s Nike sneakers, while the others kept beating him and going through his pockets.

     The victim was able to escape and ran to the Fort Totten Metro station, where a transit employee called for an ambulance. The victim was transported by ambulance to a hospital, where he was admitted and treated for multiple lacerations and bruises.

     The police later recovered surveillance footage from a drugstore that showed Josephson was present, on Oct. 21, 2012, when another suspect used the victim’s stolen credit card to purchase merchandise. Josephson was arrested on Oct. 31, 2012.  He was wearing the Nike Air Penny Sprite sneakers believed to have been taken from the victim.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, which investigated the case. He also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Tamaya Reid and Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor N. McFadden, of the Fourth District Felony Prosecution Unit.