Last of Five Defendants Pleads Guilty in Pawn Shop Break-In, Theft of Arsenal of Firearms

WASHINGTON –  CyJuan Hemsley, 18, of District Heights, Maryland, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in connection with the December 2023 break-in and burglary of 34 firearms from a Maryland pawn shop.

The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Hemsley, pleaded guilty May 7, 2025, to conspiracy to commit theft from a firearms licensee and to one count of possession of stolen firearms.

Others who pleaded guilty in the conspiracy include District residents Tyjuan McNeal, 28, Vincent Alston 23, Niquan Odumn 23, and Juwon Anderson, 22.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson scheduled Hemsley’s sentencing hearing for August 6, 2025. 

According to court documents, on Dec. 13, 2023, the co-conspirators drove from Washington, D.C. to the A&D Pawn Shop, a Federal Firearms Licensee, in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

At the pawn shop, one of the co-conspirators used a portable saw to cut the locks on a pull-down security gate. Another co-conspirator then used a crowbar-type tool to pry open the main door. Inside, the quintet grabbed an array of rifles, shotguns, and pistols from the shelves and display racks. They fled with at least 34 of the firearms.

The co-conspirators later used social media to advertise the sale of the stolen firearms. Hemsley was arrested on March 22, 2024, and has been detained since. To date, law enforcement has recovered 17 of the stolen guns.  

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division and the Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the ATF Baltimore Field Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Lipes.   

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