District Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison on Federal Firearms and Narcotics Charges

            WASHINGTON – Ricardo Burnette, 54, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison on firearms and narcotics offenses stemming from an investigation in which law enforcement recovered three firearms and numerous types of narcotics, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Burnette pled guilty on March 22, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Beryl A. Howell.  Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government's evidence, on October 30, 2018, MPD and ATF executed a search warrant at Burnette’s residence in Northwest Washington, D.C., and recovered numerous items, to include an assault rifle, a revolver, and a semiautomatic pistol, as well as ballistic vests and numerous types of ammunition, including four high-capacity magazines loaded with more than 90 rounds of ammunition. Officers also recovered a number of different types of narcotics, to include opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, marijuana, liquid PCP, as well as numerous items of drug paraphernalia.

            Burnette was arrested at his residence when the search warrant was executed and has been detained since the time of his arrest.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Benedict, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from ATF and MPD. They also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney's Office including Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Willis, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane, and Paralegal Specialists Rommel Pachoca and Teesha Tobias.