Major drug, guns & machinegun bust in NW DC leads to the arrest of 12 Kennedy Street Crew members, a Nigerian, KDY crew is all BLACK highly organized

[Arheel's Uncle]

Major drug, gun bust in NW DC leads to the arrest of 12 Kennedy Street Crew members, says DC US Attorney.​

June 28, 2023




https://mcac.maryland.gov/2023/06/m...nedy-street-crew-members-says-dc-us-attorney/

Major drug, gun bust in NW DC leads to the arrest of 12 Kennedy Street Crew members, says DC US Attorney
U.S. Attorney for DC Matthew Graves announces a dozen arrests taking down “KDY Crew.”

WASHINGTON — DC Police and the U.S. Attorney says one Northwest D.C. neighborhood is little safer after a major bust.
An unsealed federal indictment released Tuesday describes a sophisticated drug and gun crew. Now, they face serious federal charges alleging conspiracy.
Twelve members of the so-called “Kennedy Street Crew” were arrested by DC Police in the past two days. The U.S. Attorney says over 400 grams of fentanyl were seized, and they described that as the core of their criminal operation. One hundred kilograms of cannabis was also seized.
Forty-two firearms were seized, eight of which are suspected to be machine guns worth several hundred thousand dollars in total.
The U.S. Attorney says the Kennedy Street Crew was located between 100 and 1200 Kennedy Street Northwest, D.C. Also known as “KDY,” this crew allegedly ran open-air drug markets.
The indictment says they smuggled much of their fentanyl from the California Bay Area. CHINATOWN?
“As alleged in the indictment, the Kennedy Street Crew (KDY) operated over an 11-block stretch, trafficking in large amounts of drugs and firearms and possessing numerous firearms in furtherance of its operations,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “Criminal organizations like this are a magnet for violence. My office, MPD, and our federal law enforcement partners are focused on identifying and rooting out these types of operations: whether it be fentanyl poisonings or the violence that typically accompanies large-scale drug operations, these distribution networks present a substantial threat to our community.”

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When asked by WUSA9 whether the IRS’s involvement means that the Kennedy Street Crew is accused of money laundering through established businesses, the U.S. Attorney would not reveal that, citing “several more” upcoming arrests.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Twelve members of the so-called “Kennedy Street Crew” were arrested by DC Police in the past two days.

All but 1 have typical black names

Indictment Charges Alleged Members of Drug Trafficking Organization in Drug, Gun and Money Laundering Charges

www.justice.gov

In addition to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base, the indictment also charges various alleged members of the conspiracy with, among other charges, assault with a dangerous weapon; using, carrying, and possessing a firearm and/or machinegun during a drug trafficking offense; engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license; unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime; possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds of the alleged crimes. A full list of defendants, along with their corresponding charges, is contained below.

Dept of Justice posts list of names of the 12

“IRS-CI is proud to stand with our law enforcement partners to announce this indictment. The dismantling of the Kennedy Street Crew exemplifies our commitment to improve the quality of life in our community and our relentless fight against drug trafficking organizations,” said Acting IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Carter. “IRS-CI is specially equipped to follow the complex financial trail left by criminals, and we are dedicated to holding those accountable for crimes committed.”

1. Kenneth Ademola Olugbenga
2. Khali Ahmed Brown, also known as “Migo Lee”
3. Miasiah Jamal Brown, also known as “Michael Jamal Crawford”
4. Tristan Miles Ware, also known as “Greedy”
5. Herman Eric-Bibmin Signou, also known as “Herman Signour”
6. Cameron Xavier Reid
7. Aaron Deandre Mercer, also known as “Curby,”
8. David Penn, also known as “Turtle”
9. Ronald Lynn Dorsey, also known as “Ron G”
10. Antonio Reginald Bailey, also known as “Boy Boy,” also known as “Fellow King”
11. Anthony Trayon Bailey, also known as “Fat Ant,” also known as “Bizzle”
12. Angel Enrique Suncar, also known as “Coqui”

Defendant Cameron Reid is from Falmouth, VA; all remaining defendants are from Washington, D.C.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

FBI did a documentary, they're all BLACK, AfrAms are involved with Transnational African Organized Crime Syndicate.

2,521,804 views Jan 25, 2020 #Gangs #TheFBIFiles #TrueCrime
The gangs of Washington D.C brought devastation to the streets of America's capital. Unravel the mystery alongside the FBI's greatest law enforcers and forensic scientists.

First and Kennedy Street Crew | FULL EPISODE | The FBI Files​

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

#1 on list is Kenneth Ademola Olugbenga

Adémọ́lá is both a given name and a surname of Yoruba origin, [Nigerian] meaning "the crown or royalty along with prestige and wealth". Notable [Nigerian] 13 people with the name include:

Olugbenga is Nigerian name.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

BEST ARTICLE

Prosecutors Indict Alleged Members Of Kennedy Street Crew On Drug And Gun Charges

A sweeping indictment claims that a dozen members of the Kennedy Street Crew trafficked hundreds of pounds of drugs and were linked to dozens of shootings.

dcist.com

Prosecutors Indict Alleged Members Of Kennedy Street Crew On Drug And Gun Charges​

Martin Austermuhle

Residents and businesses along Kennedy Street NW have complained of repeated violent incidents and shootings in recent years.
Martin Austermuhle / DCist.WAMU

Members of a longstanding D.C. neighborhood crew have been accused of trafficking large quantities of drugs into the city, selling them in open-air drug markets in Northwest, engaging in periodic bouts of deadly violence, and laundering the proceeds of their drug sales through a Maryland casino and a nonexistent car-detailing business.
Federal prosecutors this week unveiled a sweeping indictment against a dozen alleged members of the Kennedy Street Crew, claiming that the men trafficked and sold hundreds of pounds of marijuana, crack, and fentanyl that led to a “marked rise in crimes of violence and homicides in the Kennedy Street neighborhood” — including up to seven dead and many more injured.

The charges and arrests stem from a years-long police investigation into violence and drug sales along a stretch of Kennedy Street NW, running roughly from First Street NW to Georgia Avenue through the neighborhoods of Manor Park and Brightwood Park. The commercial and residential corridor has been the scene of repeated shootings in recent years, prompting police to periodically set up semi-permanent posts at specific intersections. It was also the scene of a fatal 2020 incident where Karon Hylton-Brown was struck and killed during a police chase; Terence Sutton, the D.C. police officer who was chasing him, was found guilty of second-degree murder late last year. (He’s appealing the conviction.)
“The Kennedy Street Crew (KDY) operated over an 11-block stretch, trafficking in large amounts of drugs and firearms and possessing numerous firearms in furtherance of its operations. Criminal organizations like this are a magnet for violence,” said U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves on Tuesday, when the indictment was made public.

The men charged include Kenneth Ademola Olugbenga, 27; Khali Ahmed Brown, 22; Miasiah Jamal Brown, 21; Tristan Miles Ware, 23; Herman Eric-Bibmin Signou, 23; Cameron Xavier Reid, 26; Aaron Deandre Mercer, 27; David Penn, 30; Ronald Lynn Dorsey, 29; Antonio Reginald Bailey, 22; Anthony Trayon Bailey, 27; and Angel Enrique Suncar, 29. All but Reid are from D.C., and they face a range of charges covering alleged drug sales, illicit possession of firearms, assault, and conspiracy to launder money.

While the indictment itself only vaguely sketched out the details of what the 12 members of the neighborhood crew are accused of doing, a separate court filing on Wednesday seeking to keep the men in jail pending trial painted a much more detailed picture of the alleged crimes and offered insight into an extensive law enforcement operation that ended up involving D.C. police; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and even the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Police and prosecutors allege that members of the Kennedy Street Crew traveled frequently to Los Angeles and returned with large amounts of marijuana; during one interdiction at Dulles International Airport last October, police found almost 200 pounds of marijuana in suitcases allegedly linked to some of the accused. During their investigation, the filing says undercover police officers bought 83 pounds of marijuana, 400 grams of fentanyl, and 224 grams of crack; another 466 pounds of marijuana, 83 grams of fentanyl, and 77 grams of crack were seized during searches.
“Defendants in this case essentially commandeered an entire portion of a local community in D.C. and therein established an open-air drug market,” say federal prosecutors in Wednesday’s court filing.
Prosecutors also say that the members of the Kennedy Street Crew took steps to allegedly launder the money, largely through the MGM casino in National Harbor and a music, entrepreneurial, and car detailing business that “performed almost no washing/detailing services” but paid for $40,000 worth of airfare, restaurants, sports betting, rideshare services, and retail stores.
But prosecutors also allege that the accused were broadly linked to shootings and other violent incidents around Kennedy Street NW, and even as far as Jackson-Reed High School in Tenleytown, where a shooting took place last November. The court filing says that police seized 40 guns — including eight machine guns — from the crew’s members, and allege that the crew was linked in some form or fashion to homicides and assaults that left seven dead and three dozen others injured. The prosecutors say that at least two of the defendants were also well-known rappers — Khali Brown, known as Migo Lee, and Tristan Ware, known as Greedy — and posted music videos on YouTube that showed them holding guns and disparaging members of other crews.
“The KDY crew’s activities and impact on the Kennedy Street neighborhood succinctly evidence the danger inherent in narcotics trafficking, particularly when conducted in conjunction with firearms,” prosecutors wrote. “Over the duration of the conspiracy, there have been nearly 100 instances of firearms-related crimes in the neighborhood, an average of roughly two shootings, per month, for four years. This is notable because the figure does not even account for retaliatory shootings outside of the neighborhood. Put simply, the KDY crew is a driver of the ongoing pattern of cyclical, violent retaliation that exposes the Kennedy Street neighborhood to a significant amount of violence.”
The 12 defendants have been making their initial court appearances this week; those who already have appeared in court pleaded not guilty to the charges they face. Most of their listed attorneys either did not respond to a request for comment or said they currently wouldn’t have any comment to give; one attorney told DCist/WAMU that he was still assessing the specific charges his client is facing.
After the indictment was initially unveiled on Tuesday, Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who represents the area, celebrated the investigation and the arrests. “This is a really important public safety update for our Kennedy Street community,” she tweeted. “This indictment part of a comprehensive strategy to get guns off the street and hold individuals accountable, while also investing in our communities and supporting our young people.”
Neighborhood-based crews have a long history in D.C., dating back to the late 1980s. Some of the crews, which can cover territory as big as a neighborhood or as small as a block or housing development, develop beefs with other crews, which has periodically led to bouts of violence. Analyses of city data has shown that many homicides and shootings are linked to these neighborhood beefs, and police files stolen by hackers and posted publicly in 2021 included insights into how D.C. officials track crews and their members and try and understand their shifting alliances and conflicts. D.C. police operate a database of alleged crew members, which has periodically drawn criticism over how membership is defined and whether simply being a member of a crew is linked to crime.
The existence and alleged misdeeds of the Kennedy Street Crew have also led to debates over policing strategies and tactics, which crescendoed in Hylton-Brown’s death during a police chase in 2020. Police later said he was linked to the Kennedy Street Crew, and Sutton’s attorneys unsuccessfully tried to incorporate those allegations in his defense. Sutton is currently appealing his conviction by arguing in part that Hylton-Brown’s alleged links to the crew should have been considered by the jury.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

While the indictment itself only vaguely sketched out the details of what the 12 members of the neighborhood crew are accused of doing, a separate court filing on Wednesday s

Kennedy Crew | PDF | Fentanyl | Opioid

Kennedy Crew Details

www.scribd.com

In that indictment, it is a reasonable conclusion that Kenneth Ademola Olugbenga, 27, is a Nigerian national.
Page 56 - Kenneth Olugbenga is a convicted felon, having pleaded guilty in May 2021 to the unlawful transportation of marijuana in San Mateo County, California.

What makes this conduct all the more egregious, as detailed more specifically below in the defendant-specific sections of this memorandum, is that the defendants’ social media activity strongly suggests that KDY crew members knew that they were dealing counterfeit pharmaceutical medication disguised and passed off as legitimate oxycodone. Nevertheless, they continued to advertise [numerous drugs for sale on Instagram] on social media,

In February 2023, after fleeing from law enforcement officers and abandoning his vehicle, Olugbenga’s Ford Econoline van was searched incident to a search warrant. His passport, more than a kilogram of marijuana, distribution quantities of crack cocaine and a loaded Glock 29 handgun were recovered from the vehicle. DNA analysis of the firearm confirms Olugbenga’s possession of the firearm

On January 26, 2023, another interdiction operation occurred at BWI; Khali Brown, Herman Signou, and another KDY associate were flying back from Los Angeles with several pieces of checked-in luggage. A K9 positively indicated upon luggage associated with their traveling party, and law enforcement seized five pieces of their luggage, therein finding 86.4 pounds of marijuana similarly packaged in vacuum-sealed bags. See below for a comparison of the packaging across the three different airport interdictions involved in this investigation.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

NOT IN THEE "NEWS" Atlanta's nest of transnational criminal blacks.

Dozens charged in Atlanta-based money laundering operation that funneled $30 million in proceeds from computer fraud schemes, romance scams, and retirement account fraud

Federal agents have arrested twenty-four individuals for their involvement in a large-scale fraud and money laundering operation that targeted citizens, corporations, and financial institutions throughout the United States. Business email compromise schemes, romance fraud scams, and retirement...

www.justice.gov

Dozens charged in Atlanta-based money laundering operation that funneled $30 million in proceeds from computer fraud schemes, romance scams, and retirement account fraud​

Friday, March 13, 2020



For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA – Federal agents have arrested twenty-four individuals for their involvement in a large-scale fraud and money laundering operation that targeted citizens, corporations, and financial institutions throughout the United States.

Business email compromise schemes, romance fraud scams, and retirement account scams, among other frauds, duped numerous victims into losing more than $30 million.
“Fraud schemes, like the ones perpetrated and facilitated by these defendants, inflict considerable losses on citizens, companies, and the financial system,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Some of these schemes target the elderly and often deplete the victims’ entire life savings. These arrests affirm the Department of Justice’s commitment to prosecuting those who prey on our most vulnerable citizens.”
“The FBI would like to thank our numerous federal, state and local law enforcement partners who helped make these arrests possible,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “There is no way we can make the victims of these schemes, many who have lost their life savings, whole again. Hopefully the arrests and pending prosecutions will at least give them solace that someone is being held accountable for their losses.”
“An important mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud relating to employee benefit plans. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” stated Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent-in-Charge, Atlanta Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
“This investigation and subsequent arrests is due to the level of cooperation and information sharing by all law enforcement partners involved,” said Steven R. Baisel, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “The Secret Service will continue to collaborate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners to safeguard the nation’s critical financial infrastructure and the people in our communities.”
“No one deserves to have their hard-earned money stolen from them, so identifying and arresting these defendants makes everyone in the community safer,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “Foreign nationals arrested in this scheme will be placed into removal proceedings upon completion of their criminal sentence.”
According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: The defendants served as money launderers for other individuals throughout the world who conducted cyber-enabled fraud, including business email compromise schemes, romance scams, and retirement account scams, targeted at companies and individuals across the United States.
A “business email compromise” (BEC) is a type of computer intrusion that occurs when an employee of a company is tricked into interacting with an email message that appears to be, but is not, legitimate. The fraudulent email instructs the victim to wire money to a bank account controlled by conspirators.
A “romance scam” is a type of online fraud that occurs when an individual user of an internet dating website is targeted for fraud by an imposter posing as a potential paramour. The scammer creates a fake online dating profile that depicts photographs of an attractive man or woman alongside descriptions of the fictitious person. The scammer then uses this fake person to express romantic interest in the victim in order to trick him or her into sending money to the scammer. The scammer frequently targets vulnerable individuals who possess significant financial assets, such as retired widows or widowers.
A “retirement account scam” is a type of online fraud that occurs when a third party administrator (TPA) for retirement investment accounts is tricked into authorizing a money distribution to an imposter posing as the true accountholder. The imposter often starts the scam by calling the TPA, identifying himself or herself as an actual accountholder, and requesting a withdrawal distribution form. Once the imposter receives the withdrawal distribution form, the imposter returns the completed form to the TPA. The form is completed with the accountholder’s real personal identifying information (PII)—often stolen via BEC schemes, data breaches, and other hacking offenses—and bank account information for an account controlled by the imposter or the imposter’s conspirators. After the TPA processes the fraudulent request, the request is forwarded to the investment firm responsible for managing the accountholder’s investments, and the funds—often the accountholder’s life savings—are then directed to the imposter’s designated bank account.

The defendants and co-conspirators facilitated BEC schemes, romance scams, and retirement account scams by receiving and distributing fraudulent funds throughout the United States and the world. Over the course of the conspiracy, the defendants and their co-conspirators laundered over $30 million in fraud proceeds. The defendants created multiple sham companies that did not have physical premises, earn legitimate income, or pay wages to employees. In turn, the defendants opened business bank accounts at multiple financial institutions to facilitate receipt of the fraudulent money. The defendants also opened personal bank accounts to receive fraudulent funds, often using false identities and victims’ identities. After funds were deposited into the defendants’ bank accounts, the money was quickly withdrawn from the accounts and circulated among the defendants.
The following individuals have been charged with money laundering conspiracy:

• Darius Sowah Okang, a/k/a Michael J. Casey, a/k/a Richard Resser, a/k/a Thomas Vaden, a/k/a Michael Lawson, a/k/a Matthew Reddington, a/k/a Michael Little, 29, of Stone Mountain, Georgia;
• Dominique Raquel Golden, a/k/a Desire Tamakloe, a/k/a Mellissa Moore, a/k/a Nicole Nolay, a/k/a Raquel Roberts, a/k/a Maria Henderson, a/k/a Raquel Golden, 29, of Houston, Texas;
• Blessing Oluwatimilehin Ojo, a/k/a “Timmy,” 34, of Nigeria;
• George Kodjo Edem Adatsi, 36, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Desire Elorm Tamakloe, a/k/a “Chubby,” 25, of Smyrna, Georgia;
• Solomon Agyapong, a/k/a “Gumpe,” 31, of Marietta, Georgia;
• Afeez Olaide Adeniran, a/k/a “Ola,” 31, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Francesco Benjamin, a/k/a “B-More,” 30, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Jonathan Kojo Agbemafle, a/k/a “Skinny,” 26, of Kansas City, Missouri;
• Joshua Roberts, a/k/a “Onyx,” 28, of Houston, Texas;
• Hamza Abdallah, a/k/a Reggie Lewis, 30, of McDonough, Georgia;
• Prince Sheriff Okai, 26, of Mableton, Georgia;
• Kelvin Prince Boateng, 24, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Monique Wheeler, 29, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Matthan Bolaji Ibidapo, a/k/a “B.J.,” 27, of Colorado Springs, Colorado;
• Stephen Abbu Jenkins, a/k/a “Face,” a/k/a Steven Abbu Jenkins, Steven Jenkins, Steve Jenkins, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Kahlia Andrea Siddiqui, 28, of Chamblee, Georgia;
• Alexus Ciera Johnson, 26, of Mableton, Georgia;
• Abubakar Sadik Ibrahim, 26, of Mableton, Georgia;
• Emanuela Joe Joseph, 34, of Lawrenceville, Georgia;
• Obinna Nwosu, 26, of Douglasville, Georgia;
• Ojebe Obewu Ojebe, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia; and
• Gregory Thomas Hudson, 38, of Powder Springs, Georgia.

Darius Sowah Okang is also charged with one count of bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. The indictment alleges that Okang created a bank account in a retirement scam victim’s name, which was then used to deposit approximately $288,000 in funds fraudulently withdrawn from the victim’s retirement account.

Afeez Olaide Adeniran and Blessing Ojo are also charged with wire fraud. The indictment alleges that Adeniran defrauded a homebuyer of $40,000 intended for a real estate transaction. The indictment alleges that due to a computer intrusion and false invoicing scam, Ojo caused a media company in California to send payments totaling $89,140 to a bank account controlled by one of the defendants. In total, the victim sent $646,840, as a result of the fraud.

In addition, two related cases charging additional defendants with various counts of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and conspiracies to commit these offenses are currently pending in federal court in Atlanta. These defendants include:

• Benjamin Ibukunoluwa Oye, 26, of Sandy Springs, Georgia;
• Tyler Keon Roussell, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Christopher Akinwande Awonuga, 27, of Fayetteville, Georgia;
• Casey Broderick Williams, 26, of Covington, Georgia;
• Macario Lee Nelson, a/k/a “Mac,” 24, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Chadrick Jamal Rhodes, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Chadwick Osbourne Stewart, 40, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Oumar Bouyo Mbodj, 28, of Kennesaw, Georgia;
• Seth Appiah Kubi, 60, of Dacula, Georgia;
• Ahamefule Aso Odus, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• Paul Chinonso Anyanwu, 27, of Hampton, Georgia;
• Egale Veonzell Woods, Jr., 41, of East Point, Georgia;
• Chineda Obilom Nwakadu, 25, of McDonough, Georgia;
• Chukwukadibia Ikechukwu Nnadozie, a/k/a “Chuka,” a/k/a Michael McCord, 27, of Fayetteville, Georgia;
• Uchechi Chidimma Odus, a/k/a “Uche,” 23, of Atlanta, Georgia;
• John Ifeoluwa Onimole, 27, of Powder Springs, Georgia; and
• Oluwafunmilade Onamuti, a/k/a Mathew Kelvin, 26, of Duluth, Georgia.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictments only contain charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove each defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1713701100971516398

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Forced vacation at the Criminal Hotel.

KDY Crew Member Sentenced for Violent Crime Spree Spanning Three Months

Tyrell Jordan Stewart, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 15 years in prison today for a string of armed carjackings and sprees of violent armed robberies that he committed with two co-defendants in the District and Suburban Maryland during in 2022.

www.justice.gov

KDY Crew Member Sentenced for Violent Crime Spree Spanning Three Months​

Friday, January 12, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia

Defendant’s Carjackings and Armed Robberies Occurred in D.C. and Maryland

WASHINGTON – Tyrell Jordan Stewart, 25, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 15 years in prison today for a string of armed carjackings and sprees of violent armed robberies that he committed with two co-defendants in the District and Suburban Maryland during in 2022.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist, of the Washington Field Office; Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police (MPD); ATF Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai of the Washington Division, DEA Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget, of the Washington Division, Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County, Md., Police Department, and Chief Marcus G. Jones, of the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department.
Stewart pleaded guilty on September 15, 2023, to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce, also known as a Hobbs Act robbery; conspiracy to commit carjacking; and armed robbery.
According to the plea paperwork, Stewart admitted to personally participating in the armed robberies of six individuals, five businesses and/or their employees, and two armed carjackings. Stewart admitted to personally discharging his weapon during one of the commercial robberies.
In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell ordered Stewart to serve five years of supervised release and to pay $2,746.00 in restitution.
“This defendant was a member of the Kennedy Street Crew, also known as KDY—a crew that has had numerous members who have been charged with crimes of violence and drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “The [BLACK] people engaging in these carjacking and armed robbery sprees are among the most dangerous people in our community. Anyone thinking this kind of conduct is not a big deal is wrong: violent sprees, end with sentences like this.”
Had the case gone to trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office would have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Stewart and his two charged co-defendants conspired to a string of robberies and carjackings of individuals and businesses in the Washington D.C. metro area. Specifically, Stewart and his two charged co-defendants committed five commercial robberies, two armed carjackings, and at least 12 armed robberies over the course of their conspiracy.
“It is our hope that the results of today’s announcement sends a clear message to others that are committing similar acts of violence such as robberies and armed car jackings in the District; that they too may face similar consequences for their actions,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Kailimai. “I am proud that our agents and partnering agencies worked tirelessly to bring justice to those responsible.”
According to the government’s evidence, Stewart and his co-defendants are members of the Kennedy Street Crew or KDY, a violent street gang that operates in the Kennedy Street neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C. KDY is among the largest crews in Washington, D.C. based on both territory and its vast membership.
The defendant and his co-conspirators’ violent spree occurred over the first three months of 2022. The conspirators typically planned their robberies the night before and executed early in the morning. In order to avoid detection from law enforcement, the defendants typically began a day’s robberies by stealing a vehicle to then utilize in their subsequent robberies. If the vehicle was occupied or if the owner was close by, the men would use firearms, force, and intimidation to carjack it. After the sprees, the men sold the vehicles for added profit. A hallmark of the defendants’ robberies were the use of force and/or violence against their victims.
On February 20, 2022, for instance, Stewart and his co-conspirators stole a Honda Ridgeline truck in Silver Spring, Md., shortly before 6 a.m. Less than an hour later, police received multiple reports of suspects in a black Ridgeline truck in attempting to break into other vehicles. That same morning, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) officers responded to a convenience store on the 3500 block of University Boulevard West, in Kensington, Md. Victims reported that three armed men had entered the store and robbed the cashier of currency and a cell phone. One of the gunmen held a handgun to a customer’s right temple. As the robbery progressed, one of the gunmen fired a round into the store. One of the armed men grabbed the customer’s car keys from his left pants pocket, and all three suspects fled in the customer’s Lexus SUV.
That same morning, MCPD officers separately responded to an armed robbery of a mini market on the 4800 block of Boiling Brook Parkway, in Rockville, Md. This time, Stewart discharged his firearm to intimidate the cashier into complying with his demands. All three armed men fled the store in what appeared to be the same stolen Ridgeline used earlier. At 7:25 a.m., an MCPD officer spotted the stolen Ridgeline and stolen Lexus SUV and pursued the vehicles southbound on 16th Street towards the District at speeds topping 100 m.p.h. The MCPD officer ultimately lost sight of both vehicles. That same morning, Stewart and his co-conspirators committed an armed robbery of someone waiting at a bus stop in the 7700 block of Georgia Avenue NW, one block from the D.C./Maryland line. The defendant and his co-conspirator placed the victim in a chokehold while the other pistol-whipped the victim in the face. The two then stole the victim’s wallet.
The prosecution of Stewart, along with his two codefendants, are part of an ongoing coordinated law enforcement investigation into the Kennedy Street Crew, also known as “KDY.” The multi-year investigation reflects the efforts of nearly every federal law enforcement agency in the District of Columbia, along with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Violent Crime Suppression Division.
The investigation of this case had the sponsorship and support of the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF specializes in the investigation and prosecution of drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises.
The case is being investigated by the ATF’s Washington Field Division, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Montgomery County, Maryland Police Department and the Prince George’s County, Maryland Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey and Sitara Witanachchi of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was also provided by former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Lynch.