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Press Release

Four Assailants Sentenced For Robbery Of Three Teenage Victims-Victims Were Forced Into A Wooded Area At Night-

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia

     WASHINGTON – Four teenagers have been sentenced to prison terms for their roles in the armed robbery of three teenage victims earlier this year in a wooded area of Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

     The defendants, who pled guilty to charges in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, include Emmannuel Avent, 19; Daron Brown, 18; Stephon Christian, 18, and Diquan Lucas, 16. All are from Washington, D.C.  Avent pled guilty to a charge of robbery and the others to attempted robbery. The Honorable Stuart G. Nash sentenced Christian on Oct. 11, 2013 to 12 months of incarceration. Avent, Brown, and Lucas were sentenced last month to terms of incarceration of 36 months, 12 months, and 9 months, respectively.

     At the plea hearing, the defendants admitted that on March 30, 2013, at approximately 11:40 p.m., Avent, while wearing a ski mask, approached the victims - 14, 15, and 17 -  from behind in the 4300 block of Hunt Place NE , saying, “Everybody walk into the woods. If anybody tries to run, he’s going to get shot.” Avent then pulled up his shirt to reveal a black-handled object in his waistband. The victims complied and walked into a wooded area nearby.

     Once in the woods, Avent demanded that the victims empty their pockets. The victims turned over a cell phone and $20. As Avent collected these items, Brown, Christian, and Lucas entered the woods from a different direction. Brown and Lucas also were wearing ski masks. Brown, Christian, and Lucas told the victims to give up their tennis shoes. As they gave their shoes to the defendants, Brown checked their pockets for additional proceeds.

     After the robbery, Avent told the victims to get on the ground, put their jackets over their heads, and count to 100. The victims complied, and the defendants fled the scene of the robbery together. The victims ran out into a nearby roadway, flagged down a police vehicle, and provided a description of the robbery suspects to the police. Another police vehicle stopped the defendants a short distance away in an alley near Gault Place NE. The police searched the alley and recovered the victims’ shoes, as well as a cell phone belonging to one of the victims. The police also recovered two ski masks in a search of Avent, one ski mask in a search of Lucas, and one ski mask and a black-handled knife on the ground near where the defendants had been stopped.

     In announcing the sentencings, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the detectives and officers who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Richard Cheatham. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Schrader, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

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Updated February 19, 2015