District Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Felony Assault on Deputy U.S. Marshal

            WASHINGTON – Anthony Nowlin, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to two years in prison on a federal charge stemming from a courthouse incident last year in which he assaulted a Deputy United States Marshal, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Michael Hughes, U.S. Marshal for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            Nowlin pled guilty in February 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal law enforcement officer. He was sentenced by the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 6, 2017, Nowlin was appearing before the Honorable Maribeth Raffinan in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for violating terms of his probation in an earlier assault case. Two deputy U.S. marshals were assigned to the courtroom. Judge Raffinan revoked Nowlin’s probation and ordered that he be remanded to the custody of the deputy marshals. Nowlin became loud and belligerent while in the courtroom, and started to walk towards the cellblock before Judge Raffinan finished her ruling.

            One of the deputy marshals instructed Nowlin to wait until Judge Raffinan concluded her ruling before leaving the courtroom and going to the cell block. Then, once Judge Raffinan concluded the hearing, the two deputy marshals escorted Nowlin to the cellblock behind the courtroom. Nowlin continued to be belligerent while in the cellblock and resisted efforts by the deputy marshals to search him for weapons or contraband.

            As he continued to resist, Nowlin spun around and threw a punch at one of the deputy marshals. A struggle ensued, with Nowlin continuing to punch the deputy marshal in the face and head area. Other deputy marshals responded and Nowlin was subdued. The deputy marshal who was struck by Nowlin was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Marshal Hughes commended the work of those who handled the matter from the U.S. Marshals Service. They expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Jeannette Litz and Teesha Tobias. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole, who prosecuted the case.