Two Teenagers Sentenced to Prison Terms for Carjackings in Southeast Washington

            WASHINGTON – Deandre Bullock, 17, and Darius McNeal, 18, both of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to prison terms on charges stemming from a pair of violent crimes committed earlier this year in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Bullock was 16 and McNeal was 17 at the time of the crimes. They were charged as adults because of the nature of the offenses, and both pled guilty in April 2018.

            Bullock pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of carjacking, one count of carrying a pistol without a license, and one count of robbery.  The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 to 12 years in prison. The Honorable Todd E. Edelman accepted the plea and sentenced Bullock to 10 years in prison. McNeal pled guilty to two counts of armed robbery.  The plea, which also was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of nine to 10 years in prison. Judge Edelman accepted the plea and sentenced McNeal to nine years in prison.

            Following their prison terms, both defendants will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            Bullock and McNeal pled guilty to an incident that took place shortly after 9 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2018, at the Benco Shopping Center located at East Capitol Street SE and Benning Road SE.  According to the government’s evidence, the victim parked his Jeep Compass in front of a carry-out restaurant at the shopping center and went inside the store to pick up food.  As the victim returned to his vehicle and got back into the driver’s seat, Bullock, McNeal and three other individuals approached his vehicle.  McNeal approached the passenger side.  Bullock and two of the other individuals approached the driver side and worked together to pull the victim from the driver’s seat of his vehicle, drag him to the ground, and assault him. Bullock, McNeal, and the others got into the victim’s vehicle and drove away. 

            Bullock and McNeal also pled guilty to an incident that took place at about 6 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2018, near Johnson Middle School in the 3100 block of Bruce Place SE.  According to the government’s evidence, McNeal communicated with the victims about buying a pair of shoes through the application OfferUp and told the victims to come to the school.  When the victims arrived, McNeal and another member of the group approached them and asked to see the shoes for sale.  One of the victims showed the shoes and asked for the money.  Bullock and another individual then approached.  Bullock was wearing a mask and had a black and silver handgun with a laser sight on it.  Bullock ordered one of the victims out of the car and to the ground at gunpoint.  The other individual ordered the other victim out of the driver’s seat of the car, demanded her car keys, and took her phone.  One of the victims struggled with Bullock over the gun, while the other defendants told Bullock to “shoot him.”  The gun went off, firing one round that hit McNeal in the leg.  The victims ran away, and Bullock, McNeal and two other individuals got into the victims’ vehicle and followed them.

            In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Fogle and Victim/Witness Advocate James Brennan.  Finally, U.S. Attorney Liu commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Smalky, who investigated and prosecuted the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff.