Defendant Forced Way Into Apartment, Stabbed Victim, and Attempted to Rape Her
WASHINGTON - Demarco Myles, 21, was sentenced today to 43 years and three months in prison on numerous charges, including assault with intent to kill while armed, attempted first-degree sexual abuse while armed, and mayhem while armed, stemming from an attack in which he forced his way into a woman’s apartment, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced.
Myles, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty in January 2015 to a total of 10 charges in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. For one of the 10 offenses - attempted first-degree sexual abuse while armed - he entered what is known as an Alford plea. Under such a plea, the defendant does not admit the allegations, but agrees that the government has enough evidence to secure a conviction. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston. Upon completion of his prison term, Myles will be placed on 20 years of supervised release. Myles also will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
“This home invasion was calculated and brutal," said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. “After Demarco Myles forced his way into the victim’s apartment, he tried to rape her and stabbed her repeatedly in the eyes and face. The people of the District of Columbia are safer with the perpetrator of this monstrous attack behind bars."
According to the government’s evidence, in the early afternoon hours of Oct. 26, 2012, Myles gained entry to a secured apartment building in Northeast Washington. Once inside, he was able to take the elevator by riding with a tenant, who had a card-key to the elevator.
After getting off the elevator, Myles began knocking on doors. When he got to the victim’s apartment, she opened her door a crack to see who was knocking. Myles forced his way inside, knocking her to the floor. She began screaming, and Myles brandished a knife, held it to her throat, and ordered her to stop or he would kill her. He then forced the victim into her bathroom, where he attempted to rape her at knifepoint. Before he could, however, the victim fled into her bedroom and tried to shut herself inside a walk-in closet. Myles overpowered her, forcing his way into the closet, where he began stabbing, kicking and punching the victim.
By the time he finished, Myles had stabbed the victim more than 20 times, including in both eyes, her face and neck, and on her arms and legs. Myles left her lying on her floor, bleeding and unconscious, with life-threatening wounds. He then stole items from her apartment and left.
The victim, remarkably, regained consciousness, crawled across her floor to her phone and was able to call 911. The police and ambulance crew were able to get to the victim before she bled to death. She spent the next several weeks in a hospital, undergoing several surgeries, but survived. As a result of the wounds that Myles inflicted, the victim has had to undergo months of physical therapy and still suffers some limitations.
After the attack, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) posted footage from the apartment building’s security camera, trying to determine who committed this attack. Following up on investigative leads, MPD secured a search warrant for Myles’s home, where they recovered items that he stole from the victim’s apartment, as well as a pair of his pants that were covered in blood. DNA testing established that the blood on his pants belonged to the victim.
Myles has been in custody since his arrest on Nov. 3, 2012.
In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen commended the work of members of MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit, Criminal Investigations Unit, and Fifth District, who investigated the case. He also expressed appreciation for the support of Kristina Rose, Deputy Administrator of the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Jason Manuel, D’Yvonne Key, and Joyce Arthur; Jelahn Stewart, Chief of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit; Victim/Witness Advocates Melissa Milam and Elsa Resendiz; David Foster, La June Thames and Katina Adams-Washington, also of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit; Information Technology Specialist Jeanie Latimore-Brown; Intelligence Specialist Sharon Johnson; Legal Intern Allison Denton, and Criminal Investigators Steve Cohen and Durand Odom. He also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Trosman, Chrisellen Kolb, and Elizabeth Danello of the Appellate Section, for assistance on legal issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Kennedy, for assistance on mental health-related issues. Finally, he expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Hertzfeld, John L. Hill and Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
