WASHINGTON - Anthony Williams, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a six-year prison term after earlier pleading guilty to robbing a man at gunpoint in Northeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

 

            Williams pled guilty in July 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of armed robbery. He was sentenced by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson. Upon completion of his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release.

 

            According to the government’s evidence, in the early evening of Jan. 4, 2017, Williams and an accomplice approached the victim, who was walking in the 2300 block of Lincoln Road NE. Williams pointed a firearm at the victim’s head and said, “If you want your life, don’t move.”  The victim raised his hands above his head, but Williams nonetheless struck him on the right side of his face with either the handgun or a fist.  At the direction of Williams, the accomplice removed items from the victim’s pockets, including his cellphone and wallet, containing cash and credit cards. Williams and his accomplice then fled the area. 

 

            Subsequent investigation determined that Williams had been at the location of the armed robbery.  In addition, the victim later reported that one of his stolen credit cards had been used fraudulently at fast-food restaurants and 7-Eleven stores, and the 7-Eleven video surveillance footage depicted an individual matching Williams’s description.

 

            On Jan. 9, 2017, two witnesses identified Williams as the person recorded in the 7-Eleven video surveillance footage.  In addition, one of the witnesses stated that Williams had a dark-colored firearm.  That same day, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to a residence in the 1300 block of W Street SE in an attempt to locate Williams. Police found him in one of the bedrooms, underneath a bed.  In the same room, police also located a green jacket with fur around the collar that appeared to be the same jacket worn by the person in the 7-Eleven video.  In the pocket of the green jacket, law enforcement located a fully loaded Glock .45-caliber magazine that Williams acknowledged belonged to him. Williams was arrested and has been in custody ever since.

 

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Goodwin. Finally, she commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Vivien Cockburn, who prosecuted the case.