Rodney Bennett, 20, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced on July 24 in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia to nine years in prison for two robberies committed in 2024 and one assault with a dangerous weapon while confined at a D.C. Correctional Facility in 2025, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Bennett pleaded guilty on March 23, 2026, to one count of armed robbery, one count of robbery, and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan imposed a sentence that includes five years of supervised release following his prison term.
According to government evidence presented in court, on August 28, 2024, at approximately 11:10 p.m., Bennett approached a man returning a rental scooter at 5th and Neal Place NE in Washington D.C., pointed a firearm at him, and demanded his cellphone and wallet. The victim handed over both items but managed to retrieve his phone before fleeing to call police from a nearby bar. Investigators said Bennett fled with the wallet and that GPS monitoring data placed him at the scene during the incident.
Just over an hour later, on August 29, 2024, around 12:24 a.m., Bennett followed two individuals into an underground parking garage at 1924 8th Street NW. When he exited his vehicle and approached them, both individuals ran; Bennett chased one person down near an elevator entrance where he pointed a firearm at him and demanded his watch and cash before fleeing with those items. GPS data again placed Bennett at the location during this offense.
Bennett was arrested by Metropolitan Police Department officers on October 9, 2024. He has remained in custody since then. While incarcerated on November 10, 2025, inside the Northwest Three Housing Unit of Central Detention Facility operated by the Department of Corrections, he became involved in an altercation with another inmate; during this dispute Bennett produced a sharp metal object and stabbed the other inmate, causing lacerations to the face and head.
Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of Metropolitan Police Department joined U.S. Attorney Pirro in announcing the sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hanley prosecuted the case.