Defendant Was on Probation for Gun Offense at Time of Attack
WASHINGTON - Jerome A. Proctor, Jr., 24, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to discharging a firearm during an armed robbery of a United States Postal Service (USPS) Letter Carrier who was delivering mail in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Inspector in Charge Robert B. Wemyss of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Proctor pled guilty before the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. Because the firearm was discharged during the commission of the offense, Proctor faces a mandatory 10 years of incarceration, which must run consecutive to any other sentence. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cooper on July 17, 2018.
The government’s evidence established that on Nov. 26, 2016, at approximately 6 p.m., Proctor and an associate attacked the victim in the 2300 block of 2nd Street NE. The victim was completing mail deliveries on his route and Proctor brandished a black semi-automatic handgun and pointed it towards the letter carrier’s head. Proctor then kicked and pistol-whipped the victim while he was on the ground and his associate went through the victim’s pockets, taking the victim’s cell phone, personal keys, and wallet, containing identification and debit cards. Property of the U.S. Postal Service was also taken, including a mail satchel and scanner.
A vehicle drove up during the assault and robbery, at which point Proctor fired a single shot into the air in an attempt to scare off the driver of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle heard the gunshot, and fearing for her safety, sped away, with the letter carrier chasing after the vehicle. Shortly after the assault and robbery, Proctor and his associate could be seen together on video footage from the Fashion Centre mall at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va., where Proctor’s associate attempted to use a debit card stolen from the letter carrier at the food court.
Proctor was arrested in December 2016 in Prince George’s County, Md. and he has been in custody ever since. He was indicted in this case in May 2017.
During the assault on the letter carrier, Proctor commented that the victim got “blood on his new Timberlands." During the course of the investigation, the victim’s blood was identified on a stain on a pair of jeans recovered from the residence where Proctor was arrested.
At the time of his arrest in Maryland, Proctor was on probation in Maryland for a firearms conviction. Proctor’s probation was revoked by Maryland and he was re-sentenced to serve the three-year sentence that had previously been suspended. That sentence must run consecutive to the sentence in this case.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu, Inspector in Charge Wemyss, and Chief Newsham commended the work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and MPD officers in the Fifth District in quickly investigating and arresting Proctor. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section, Paralegal Specialist Rommel Pachoca, and Legal Assistant Peter Gaboton.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
