WASHINGTON - Ezra Griffith, 23, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty by a jury of a federal weapons charge, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.
The jury found Griffith guilty on April 10, 2012 of a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime that is punishable by more than a year in prison. Griffith was convicted in 2010 of an attempted robbery charge.
The verdict followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Amy Berman Jackson scheduled sentencing for June 27, 2013. Griffith faces up to 10 years in prison. The Court ordered that he be held without bond pending sentencing.
According to the government’s evidence, on Jan. 7, 2013, at approximately 7:10 a.m., the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) Homicide Branch executed a search warrant at an apartment in the 2600 block of Birney Place SE. Officers approached the front door and knocked and announced, “Police, search warrant." After a few moments, another occupant opened the door. Officers observed Griffith standing at the rear of a bed in his underwear.
Moments later, an officer who was one stationed outside, and who has known Griffith for more than eight years, notified the other officers that he had observed the defendant throw a handgun out of the apartment’s bedroom window and onto the ground below. The firearm was a 9mm Glock, with an extended 30-round magazine loaded into the well of the weapon.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the actions of the MPD officers. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Candace Battle and Candice Sisco. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittan Heller, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
13-131
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
