District Men Sentenced to Prison Terms For Robbing Teenagers at Gunpoint

            WASHINGTON – Cornelius Rice, 27, and Jamal Allen, 25, both of Washington, D.C. have been sentenced to prison terms for robbing seven teenagers at gunpoint earlier this year in Southeast Washington, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced.

            Rice pled guilty in July 2015, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of robbery and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Allen pled guilty in June 2015 to charges of robbery while armed and fleeing a law enforcement officer.

            The Honorable Todd E. Edelman sentenced Rice on Sept. 11, 2015, to a 6 ½-year prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The judge sentenced Allen on Aug. 25, 2015, to six years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Feb. 15, 2015, at about 6:30 p.m., Rice, Allen, and two other men followed seven teenagers, ages 14 and 15, into a carry-out restaurant in the 300 block of Southern Avenue SE with the intention of robbing them. Six of the seven juveniles were wearing Nike shoes, which had gone on sale to the public the previous day.  After following the juveniles into the restaurant, Rice brandished a pistol and demanded that the teenagers take off their shoes.  During the robbery, Allen had a pistol or imitation pistol.

            Rice, Allen, and the two other men took six pairs of shoes from the victims, along with a cell phone and cash from the only victim who was not wearing the newly released shoes. Nine days after the robbery, on Feb. 24, 2015, U.S. Park Police attempted to stop Allen for a traffic violation in Southeast Washington. He fled the area at a high rate of speed, crossing into oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed. He and Rice were arrested within weeks of their crimes.

            In announcing the sentences, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen praised the work of those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  He also expressed appreciation to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kondi Kleinman and Lindsey Merikas, who investigated and indicted the case.