Defendant Was Arrested at Location Where He Previously Sold Narcotics
WASHINGTON - Delonte Bridges, 28, of Northwest, D.C., pled guilty today to possessing a stolen loaded firearm in broad daylight in Northwest, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Bridges pled guilty before the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The Defendant faces up to ten years of prison. Judge Jackson scheduled Bridges’ sentencing for Oct. 2, 2019.
According to the government’s evidence, on Oct. 21, 2018, at approximately 4:30 p.m., officers of MPD’s Gun Recovery Unit were on patrol in two vehicles in the First Police District at approximately 4:30 p.m. As officers turned south into the 1100 block of First Place, Northwest, an area known for narcotics and firearms offenses, an announcement that law enforcement was entering the area was broadcasted by individuals standing in the street. In response to the announcement, Bridges initially began walking away from law enforcement and then engaged in an unprovoked flight. In response, law enforcement officers exited their vehicle, activated their body camera video, and followed in pursuit. Body camera video of responding officers showed that a firearm was visible on the waistband of Bridges after he gave up running from law enforcement and was on the ground. Upon his arrest, officers recovered from Bridges’ waistband a Glock 27.40 caliber firearm with one round of.40 caliber ammunition in the chamber and five rounds of.40 caliber ammunition in the magazine. MPD officers subsequently learned that the firearm had been reported stolen during a theft that occurred on July 23, 2018 in the 900 block of Rhode Island Avenue, Northeast.
In 2011, Bridges was convicted in the D.C. Superior Court of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in the same location that he was found with the stolen loaded firearm in this case.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham, commended the work of those who investigated the case. They also cited the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Macchiaroli of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Section, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
