Three-time Convicted Felon Sentenced to 42 Months for Unlawful Possession of a Loaded Firearm on a District Playground

           WASHINGTON – Ezra Griffith, 34, a twice convicted felon from Washington D.C., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 42 months in federal prison in connection with his illegal possession on a District playground of a Glock loaded with 30 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           Griffith was found guilty by a jury on September 19, 2024, of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In addition to the 42-month prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered Griffith to serve 36 years of supervised release. 

           According to the evidence presented to the jury, on November 15, 2023, about 8:40 p.m., members of the MPD’s Fifth District Crime Suppression Team entered the parking lot of the Rosedale Recreation Center in Northeast Washington, D.C. Officers observed a small group of people congregating inside the fenced-in playground next to the recreation center building. The park was closed. In fact, there was a sign next to the playground’s only entrance noting that it was open from dawn to dusk. The officers went to make contact with the group.

As officers approached the fenced-in playground, Griffith immediately sat down on a concrete partition and moved his hands near the front of his waistband, appearing to adjust an object in his lap. Subsequently, Griffith got up and sprinted along the inside fence line of the playground. Officers briefly lost sight of Griffith before stopping him moments later inside the playground area.

Officers canvassed Griffith’s flight path and recovered a Glock 27 .40 caliber semiautomatic firearm loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition. Griffith has two prior felony convictions in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, for carrying a pistol without a license and for attempted robbery.

           This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by  Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole.

Police recovered a black Glock 27 .40 caliber semi-automatic loaded with 29 rounds of ammunition in a thirty-round magazine and one round in the chamber.

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