Senior Member of Violent D.C. Drug Crew Is Sentenced to 420 Months in Federal Prison

            WASHINGTON –Broadus Jamal Daniels, 30, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 420 months (35 years) in prison in connection with drug and gun charges related to a drug-trafficking conspiracy.

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

            Daniels, aka “Wardy,” was found guilty by a federal jury on September 16, 2024, of possessing machine guns in furtherance of drug trafficking, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, conspiracy to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, unlawful possession of machine guns, and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

            In addition to the 35-year prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Daniels to serve four years of supervised release.

            According to the evidence presented at trial, Daniels, was a “big homie” or senior member in a street gang known as Jugg Gang, or “JG.”  In approximately August 2018, the Jugg Gang became allied with a neighboring D.C. street crew known as “Push Dat Shit” or “PDS.”  PDS maintained gang territory in the 3300 – 3500 blocks of Wheeler Road, Southeast, and adjacent areas, and operated an open-air drug market outside a grocery located on the 3500 block of Wheeler Road, Southeast.

            Between August 2018 and April 2023, members of the allied PDS/JG street crew sold drugs from Holiday Market and from “trap houses” that they maintained in apartment buildings surrounding that location. As their drug business grew, PDS/JG became the target of drive-by shootings conducted by rival gangs – shootings they referred to as “spinning the block.” Beginning in August 2019, a PDS/JG member began assembling AR-pistol assault rifles from kits purchased from online retailers and modified them to be capable of fully automatic fire. Such firearms are defined as “privately made firearms” by the ATF but are frequently referred to as “ghost guns” on the street.

            As proved at trial, PDS/JG members used, carried, and possessed these “ghost gun” AR-pistol machine guns to defend their territory from rival gangs, and also to “spin the block” on rival gangs to deter their rivals from entering PDS/JG territory.

            This sentencing is part of an ongoing joint investigation which has resulted in 26 convictions, and the seizure of two vehicles, 35 firearms, four machine guns, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, approximately 60 pounds of marijuana, 41 grams of cocaine base, dozens of oxycodone pills, and approximately $500,000 in cash.

            Daniels’ co-defendant, Andre Alonte Willis, who was a leader of PDS, was sentenced February 20, 2025, to 20 years in prison on five felony convictions related to drug trafficking and firearms offenses.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the ATF’s Washington Field Division, and the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James B. Nelson and Justin F. Song and Paralegal Specialist Melissa Macechko.

22cr303

##