Maryland Man Sentenced To 17-Year Prison Term For 2010 Murder In Southeast Washington-Slaying Took Place In Attempted Robbery-

     WASHINGTON – Rafael Douglas, 20, of Capitol Heights, Md., was sentenced today to a 17-year prison term for his role in a murder that took place in broad daylight during an attempted robbery in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Douglas pled guilty in August 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second-degree murder while armed. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert E. Morin. Upon completion of his prison term, Douglas will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, Douglas and two other men made plans to rob workers who were making repairs to a building in the 4600 block of Hillside Road SE. On the afternoon of May 28, 2010, one of the men, Javon Hale, dropped Douglas and the second accomplice off on Hillside Road. Douglas and the second accomplice then approached the workers for the purpose of robbing them, including the victim, Manuel De Jesus Sanchez, 29.

     After they approached Mr. Sanchez, a physical confrontation ensued, and Douglas’s accomplice pulled out a gun and fatally shot the victim in the chest. Hale, 19, of Capitol Heights, Md., has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on a charge of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence while armed, and other unrelated offenses. The alleged gunman was later killed in an unrelated shooting.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the detectives, officers and crime scene technicians who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Bradford and Jeffrey Pearlman; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharad Khandelwal; Victim/Witness Advocate Melissa Milam; Paralegal Specialist Kendra Johnson; and Litigation Technology Specialist Josh Ellen. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Reagan M. Taylor, who prosecuted the case.