Defendant Had Been Serving Time After Series of Earlier Crimes
WASHINGTON - Bijon Brown, 23, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to federal charges stemming from his escape from a halfway house and his subsequent arrest in possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu.
Brown pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to charges of escape from custody and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The plea agreement, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence of five years in prison, to be followed by a term of supervised release. The Honorable Senior Judge Royce C. Lamberth scheduled sentencing for May 17, 2019.
According to the government’s evidence, on Feb. 27, 2018, Brown was residing in a halfway house and completing his sentence in an earlier case. That day, staff from the Piedmont, Va. Regional Jail arrived at the halfway house, expecting to return Brown to incarceration because he was having disciplinary issues. Instead, Brown exited through a window and fled.
Brown was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on April 17, 2018. That day, officers responded to the 2400 block of Elvans Road SE for a report of a man with a gun. They found Brown inside the entryway of an apartment building. Brown ran from police, down multiple flights of stairs, and tossed a handgun as he fled. He was caught and arrested. His handgun, a Glock 17 9mm pistol, loaded with one round in the chamber and 29 rounds in an extended clip, was recovered from the floor.
Since 2015, Brown has been convicted of charges in three separate cases in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In March 2015, Brown pled guilty to a charge of attempted assault with a dangerous weapon for a shooting that took place on Feb. 16, 2015, in the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road SE. Brown fired approximately four or five shots in the direction of two juvenile brothers, hitting one in the leg. He was sentenced to six months of incarceration, but the time was suspended on the condition that he complete 12 months of supervised probation. While on probation, on Aug. 21, 2015, Brown exchanged gunfire with another individual while onboard a D.C. Metrobus in Southeast Washington. Brown was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and sentenced to 18 months in prison, with all but a year and a day suspended. Brown was released from jail on Aug. 16, 2016 and was arrested again in a third case just eight days later. In that case, he pled guilty to unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and was sentenced to 14 months in prison. After sentencing on the latter charge, Brown remained incarcerated until he was transferred to the halfway house and subsequently escaped.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, including detectives and officers from the Seventh Police District. She also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen D’Angelo and William Schurmann, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
