Defendant and Accomplice Targeted Victim in Robbery
WASHINGTON - Joshua Mebane, 20, of Waldorf, Md., was found guilty by a jury today of first-degree murder while armed and other charges in the November 2012 killing of a taxicab driver in Northeast Washington, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced.
In addition to the murder charge, the jury found Mebane guilty of nine other charges, including conspiracy, assault with intent to commit robbery while armed, and firearms offenses. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Jennifer Anderson scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13, 2015. Mebane could face decades in prison for the various crimes.
A co-defendant, Linda Bury, also 20, earlier pled guilty to charges of second-degree murder while armed and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. She is awaiting sentencing.
According to the government’s evidence, Mebane and Bury, both 17 years old at the time, met online in October of 2012. Dissatisfied with their respective home environments, they made a plan to run away together. On Nov. 1, 2012, Mebane took a taxi from his family home in Waldorf, Md., to Bury’s family home in Parkton, Md. They then took a cab into the District of Columbia, and they stayed at a motel in Northeast Washington from Nov. 2 to Nov. 7, 2012.
In light of a dwindling money supply, Mebane and Bury devised a plan to commit a robbery of a taxicab driver on the evening of Nov. 7, 2012. A few minutes before 9 p.m., they randomly hailed a taxicab and instructed the driver, Muhammad Quadeer, to drive them to the rear of Hamilton Junior High School in the 1400 block of Brentwood Parkway NE. Once in the rear of the building, Mebane put on a black latex glove, pulled a 9mm pistol from a nylon bag, and fatally shot Mr. Quadeer, 44, once to the back of his head.
In announcing the verdict, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences; Bode Technologies; the Charles County, Md. Sheriff’s Department; the Baltimore County, Md. Police Department, and the Gallaudet University Department of Public Safety. In addition, he acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Donovan; Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling; Paralegal Specialists Kwasi Fields and Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, and Victim/Witness Security Specialist David Foster. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney George A. Pace, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
