District Man Sentenced to 7 1/2-Year Prison Term For Robbing Woman at Bus Stop in Southeast Washington

            WASHINGTON – Anthony Thomas, also known as Anthony Jones, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 90-month prison term for robbing a woman at gunpoint this year, in broad daylight, at a bus stop in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Thomas was found guilty by a jury in July 2017 of charges of armed robbery and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $200 in restitution to the victim.

            According to the government’s evidence, on March 13, 2017, at approximately 2:10 p.m., the victim was waiting for her bus in the 2100 block of Alabama Avenue SE, when Thomas and two other assailants approached her.  As a Metro bus pulled up to the stop, Thomas stepped between the victim and the bus, showed her the handle of a gun tucked into his waistband, and told her she was not getting on board. At first, the victim thought Thomas was joking and tried to get around him by pushing past him.  Thomas then threatened to shoot the victim.  He and his accomplices took the victim’s iPhone, cash, wallet, and other personal effects, before fleeing in a gray Chevy Monte Carlo.  Thomas was arrested later that day.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the Metro Transit Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Fogle, Victim/Witness Advocate Diana Lim, and Victim/Witness Security Specialist Debra Cannon. Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Smalky and Kaitlin  Vaillancourt, who investigated and prosecuted the case.