District Teenager Sentenced to 10 ½-Year Prison Term on Carjacking and Armed Robbery Charges

            WASHINGTON – Deonta King, 17, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a prison term of 10 ½ years on carjacking and armed robbery charges stemming from violent crimes committed this year in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            King, who was 17 at the time of the offenses, was charged as an adult because of the nature of the crimes. He pled guilty in April 2018 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 to 12 years in prison. The Honorable Todd E. Edelman accepted the plea and sentencing King accordingly. Following his prison term, King will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            Three co-defendants, all from Washington, D.C., also were charged as adults and pled guilty to charges for their roles in one or both of the crimes. Deandre Bullock, 17, and Darius McNeal, 18, were sentenced earlier this month by Judge Edelman to prison terms of 10 years and nine years, respectively. Javon Coe, 17, is awaiting sentencing.

            McNeal, Bullock, King, and Coe pled guilty to an incident that took place shortly after 9 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2018, at the Benco Shopping Center located at East Capitol Street SE and Benning Road SE.  According to the government’s evidence, the victim parked his Jeep Compass in front of a carry-out restaurant at the shopping center and went inside the store to pick up food.  As the victim returned to his vehicle and got back into the driver’s seat, McNeal, Bullock, King, Coe, and another individual approached his vehicle.  McNeal approached the passenger side.  Bullock, King, and Coe approached the driver side and worked together to pull the victim from the driver’s seat of his vehicle, drag him to the ground, and assault him.  King took the victim’s keys from his hand.  Coe, who had a handgun, tried to take the victim’s cellphone, but the victim refused to let go of it.  McNeal, Bullock, King, Coe, and another individual got into the victim’s vehicle and drove away. 

            McNeal, Bullock, and King also pled guilty to an incident that took place at about 6 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2018, near Johnson Middle School in the 3100 block of Bruce Place SE.  According to the government’s evidence, McNeal communicated with the victims about buying a pair of shoes through the application OfferUp and told the victims to come to the school.  When the victims arrived, McNeal and another member of the group approached them and asked to see the shoes for sale.  One of the victims showed the shoes and asked for the money.  King and Bullock then approached.  Bullock was wearing a mask and had a black and silver handgun with a laser sight on it.  Bullock ordered one of the victims out of the car and to the ground at gunpoint.  King ordered the other victim out of the driver’s seat of the car, demanded her car keys, and took her phone.  One of the victims struggled with Bullock over the gun, while the other defendants told Bullock to “shoot him.”  The gun went off, firing one round that hit McNeal in the leg.  The victims ran away, and McNeal, Bullock, King, and another individual got into the victims’ vehicle and followed them.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Fogle and Victim/Witness Advocate James Brennan.  Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Smalky, who investigated and prosecuted the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff.