Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Four Men And Then Shooting at Responding Police Officers

            WASHINGTON – Luvell Alverson, 22, of Suitland, Md., pled guilty today to robbing four people at gunpoint last summer in Southeast Washington and then firing a gun at police officers, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.

            Alverson pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to four counts of armed robbery and three counts of assaulting a police officer while armed. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a prison sentence of 10 to 16 years. The Honorable Danya A. Dayson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 13, 2016.

            According to the government’s evidence, during the evening of July 11, 2016, and into the early morning hours of July 12, 2016, Alverson was with five other individuals; all arrived  in a Lincoln Navigator that was parked behind Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in the area of the 600 block of Alabama Avenue, SE.  While behind the school, Alverson retrieved a semi-automatic handgun and went to a nearby basketball court, where four men were playing basketball. Alverson brandished the gun, ordered the men to the ground, and took their cell phones and keys. Before leaving, he fired multiple shots at the ground.

            After the robberies, Alverson returned to his group and they all entered the Lincoln Navigator, with Alverson in the rear. As the vehicle attempted to leave the school, it was met by a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) vehicle containing three officers who were responding to a report of shots in the area. The Navigator’s path was blocked by the MPD vehicle, and the Navigator backed up and stopped. Alverson lowered the rear passenger window and fired multiple shots in the direction of the officers. Officers returned fire, and Alverson left the vehicle and fled. He was identified and arrested later on July 12 and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Schurmann, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.