Felon Indicted for Illegal Possession of a Firearm Following Arrest in Northeast

            WASHINGTON – Ronald Aiken, 48, of the District of Columbia, has been charged in an indictment, unsealed today in U.S. District Court, on a federal firearms charge as part of the "Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful" initiative.

            The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Aiken is charged federally with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.

            According to court documents, on June 10, 2025, members of the MPD’s Fifth District Crime Suppression Team were on patrol following two shootings in the area. As officers drove on the 1700 block of D Street NE, they observed a gray Audi sedan without a front registration plate driving the wrong way down a one-way street. Officers stopped the Audi on the 1700 block of Gales Street NE, and approached the driver, later identified as Ronald Aiken.

            Through the window, officers observed an open can of beer in an unzipped backpack on the rear passenger seat. Officers searched the backpack and discovered a live round of ammunition. During a further search of the vehicle, officers discovered a firearm wedged behind the rear driver-side seat. Officers identified the firearm as a black Taurus G3 9x19 pistol, loaded with one round in the chamber and three additional rounds in the magazine.

            Aiken is prohibited from possession a firearm and ammunition due to multiple prior felony convictions, including a 2024 Arlington County, Virginia Circuit Court conviction for the possession/transport of a firearm by a convicted felon.

            This case is being investigated by the ATF Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Sussler and Brendan Horan are prosecuting the case.

            An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.