Victims -- 12, 16 and 19 -- Attacked Near Northwest Washington Recreation Center
WASHINGTON - Eric Aguilar-Gamez, 20, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced today to 16 ½ years in prison for assaulting and attempting to rob three young victims at gunpoint, as well as a separate gun offense, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.
Gamez was found guilty by a jury in July 2017, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault with intent to commit robbery while armed, and five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. After the trial, Gamez pled guilty to a separate gun offense for unlawful possession of a firearm, which occurred in April of 2016.
In sentencing Gamez, the Honorable Juliet McKenna noted that in just two years, he had been convicted of five separate offenses, three involving firearms. She also cited the young age of the victims in this case and the seriousness of the offense. Following his prison term, Gamez will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence at trial, in the early evening of May 19, 2016, two sisters, ages 16 and 12, were walking in Northwest Washington to a store to meet the 16-year-old’s boyfriend, who was 19 years old. While heading to the store, they noticed a group of men, including Gamez, near the tennis courts of the Fort Stevens Recreation Center. Feeling uncomfortable with the fact that people in this group appeared to be staring at her phone, the 16-year-old asked her boyfriend to walk back home with them.
Just as they were turning onto Whittier Place NW, they heard tires screech behind them and saw a black two-door Honda chasing after them. The three ran as fast as they could, nearly making it to the girls’ home, but Gamez jumped out of the front passenger seat, pulling a black handgun from under his seat. Gamez then lifted the gun, pointing it at the three victims and yelling what appeared to be a gang-related threat. The 19-year-old hopped a fence and ran off. Gamez then looked directly at the girls and demanded their belongings. The 16-year-old threw herself between the gun and her sister and refused to comply with Gamez’s demands. The girls’ mother heard her daughters screaming and opened the door of their home, confronting Gamez before he hopped back in the black two-door Honda and drove away.
Gamez was arrested May 22, 2016.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the last time the 16-year-old saw Gamez. On Nov. 28, 2016, she was in the basement of the courthouse when she saw Gamez seated across from her. She told him how what he had done had affected her sister. In response, he laughed and said he should have pulled the trigger.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney, Troy Griffith, Tamaya Reid, and Sharon Newman. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allessandra Stewart, Marisa West, and Ethan Carroll who investigated and prosecuted the cases.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
