Defendant Participated in Three Violent Carjackings in 35 Days
Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, John Howard was sentenced to 181 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly for his participation in three violent carjackings. Howard and his co-defendant, Donald Warren, previously pleaded guilty to carjacking and related firearms charges. Warren was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment on Sept. 14, 2017.
Bridget M. Rohde, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.
“John Howard attacked innocent members of communities in Queens and Nassau Counties as they went about their daily lives, terrorizing them with the threat and use of lethal force," stated Acting United States Attorney Rohde. “With this sentence, Howard is being held accountable for his numerous violent crimes." Ms. Rohde also thanked the Nassau County Police Department, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and the Queens County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance during the investigation.
Carjacking, Dec. 18, 2015
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding, on Dec. 18, 2015, Howard approached a woman who was sitting in a parked Volkswagen Jetta in Valley Stream, New York. As the woman leaned over to retrieve her purse from the passenger side, Howard pressed a hard object against her back and said, “You know what this is. If you want to see your family and not be on the news, give me your money." Howard stole the woman’s car and drove away in it.
Carjacking, Dec. 28, 2015
Howard and Warren confronted the driver of a Mercedes Benz in front of a Best Western hotel in Jamaica, New York. Warren threatened the driver with a handgun and demanded his wallet. Warren and Howard beat the man over the head, stole his wallet, and drove away in the Mercedes.
Carjacking and Shooting, Jan. 21, 2016
Howard participated in another carjacking with Warren in which they stole a car parked outside a Hampton Inn hotel in South Ozone Park, New York. A young woman was waiting for her mother in the passenger seat of a Hyundai parked in front of the hotel when Warren, armed with a loaded handgun, entered the vehicle and drove it around the hotel parking lot. When the young woman’s mother left the hotel a few minutes later, Warren exited the vehicle and demanded the mother’s purse. Warren shot the woman in the chest when she resisted. Howard and Warren then fled the scene.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Tanya Hajjar and Moira Kim Penza are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
JOHN HOWARD
Age: 50
Residence: Brooklyn, New York
DONALD WARREN
Age: 55
Residence: Queens, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-102 (AMD)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
