Press Release

District Man Who Wielded a Machine Gun Near Anacostia Elementary School Sentenced to Federal Prison

Thursday, May 22, 2025

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – Jason Jerome Bell, 21, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 21 months in federal prison for brandishing a fully loaded machine gun at a passing car, on a heavily trafficked street in the middle of the afternoon, in the direction of an elementary school with staff present.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Jessica M.E. Taylor of the U.S. Park Police.

Bell pleaded guilty on January 15, 2025, without a plea agreement to unlawful possession of a machine gun, and to carrying a pistol without a license. In addition to the 21-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered Bell to serve three years of supervised release. In light of the severity of Bell’s conduct, the government had asked the Court for an upward variant sentence of 36 months.

According to court documents, about 2:45 pm on Oct. 11, 2024, a U.S. Park Police investigator was conducting surveillance of Bell in Anacostia. Bell had been reported to be flashing firearms. The investigator located Bell in the alley behind a house on 1900 block 16th Street SE. The investigator watched as Bell pulled a firearm from his waistband and aimed it at a silver sedan. The USPP investigator captured Bell’s actions on camera.

USPP officers subsequently arrested Bell and recovered a loaded Glock 30 gen 4 pistol, .45 caliber, outfitted with a switch which converted the semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic machine gun. The Glock had 26 rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Park Police with the assistance of the ATF. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Strong and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren R. Randell.