He and Co-Defendant Also Sentenced for Insurance Fraud Scheme
WASHINGTON - Dominic White, 30, of Lanham, Md., was sentenced today to 8 years in prison on a charge of aggravated assault while armed, for assaulting a man with a metal pole at a towing establishment in Northeast Washington. In addition, White was sentenced to 1 year in prison on charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, to run consecutively, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips.
A co-defendant, Phanessa Haynes, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 9 months of incarceration with the time suspended and 18 months of supervised probation for her role in the insurance fraud scheme.
White and Haynes were found guilty by a jury on March 24, 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. They were sentenced by the Honorable Juliet McKenna. Following their prison terms, defendant White will be placed on 5 years of supervised release. White was ordered to pay $1535 and Haynes $500 in restitution to State Farm Insurance.
According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 4, 2014, at approximately 5 p.m., Haynes arrived at a towing company in the 1000 block of Kenilworth Avenue NE to pick up her car, which was getting its rims and tires replaced. She quickly noticed that the job wasn’t completed to her standards and became angry at the man who was doing the work. She called her boyfriend - White - multiple times expressing her frustrations.
White raced over and once arriving, picked up a metal pipe. Haynes pointed to the victim, and said, “That’s him, that’s the one." White rushed to the victim and struck him with the metal pipe a couple of times, hitting and injuring him. He then dropped the pipe and fled. The victim’s head injuries required 18 staples and resulted in debilitating migraines for approximately a year. Following the attack, other employees at the towing shop called 911 and one gave a partial license tag of White’s car. White was later identified as the owner of a car with the same make and color described by witnesses, with a similar tag.
Further investigation showed that Haynes and White were involved with an insurance policy that was purchased by Haynes, which led to her car being at the towing establishment on the day of the assault. Soon after purchasing the policy, and making sure it covered tires and rims, Haynes filed a claim with the insurer for “stolen" rims.
White was arrested on March 30, 2015, and Haynes was arrested at the scene on Nov. 4, 2014.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Phillips 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 FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team and the U.S. Marshals Service. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Rickard, Daniel Lenerz, Jocelyn Ballantine, Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez, Kathryn Rakoczy, and Opher Shweiki; Victim/Witness Advocate James Brennan; Paralegal Specialists Richard Cheatham, Debra McPherson, Crystal Waddy, and Tiffany Fogle; Criminal Investigator, Melissa Matthews; Litigation Technology Specialists, Josh Ellen and Leif Hickling; Investigative Analyst, Zachary McMenamin, and Computer Forensic Examiner; John Marsh.
Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Seifert and David Misler, who investigated and indicted the case, and Monica Trigoso and Alysa Kociuruba, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
