Sean Franklin Mills, Jr., a 21-year-old from Capital Heights, Maryland, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release for carjacking and related firearms offenses. The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby.
The announcement was made by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Acting Special Agent in Charge Evan Campanella of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Baltimore, and Chief George Nader of the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).
According to Mills' guilty plea, he and a co-conspirator carried out six armed carjackings between November 27 and December 19, 2022, in Prince George’s County. On November 27, they approached their first victim in Oxon Hill while dressed in black clothing and ski masks. Mills chased the victim with a handgun before demanding his keys. After the victim complied out of fear for his life, Mills and his accomplice fled with the vehicle.
On December 4 at a gas station in Capitol Heights, Mills confronted another victim who was fueling his Honda Accord. Wearing a ski mask and armed with a handgun, Mills demanded the keys before fleeing with the car.
Two days later in Hyattsville, Mills and his accomplice arrived at another gas station driving a vehicle believed to be stolen during the previous incident. They pulled up next to a third victim; Mills exited the passenger seat with a handgun drawn and took control of that victim's Toyota Camry.
On December 8 in Temple Hills, they targeted another individual as he entered his Toyota Camry. Armed with a black and silver handgun featuring an extended magazine, Mills demanded both the car and cell phone before leaving with them.
December 19 saw two more incidents: one involving a DoorDash delivery driver in Landover whose Toyota Corolla was taken after being threatened at gunpoint; another involved confronting someone sitting inside their parked Toyota Highlander in Hyattsville. In each case, victims complied due to threats against their lives.
Law enforcement tracked Mills using GPS data on December 20 and found one of the stolen vehicles near his residence. The following day PGPD officers conducted surveillance in New Carrollton where they apprehended Mills and his co-conspirator during a tactical stop. Two loaded handguns were recovered from their vehicle.
The investigation is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which coordinates law enforcement efforts across agencies to reduce violent crime through community trust-building, support for violence prevention organizations, strategic enforcement priorities, and results measurement. More details about PSN can be found on the Department of Justice website: https://www.justice.gov/psn
Kelly O. Hayes commended HSI and PGPD for their roles in investigating this case and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Dawn Williams for prosecuting it.
Further information about resources from the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md or https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach
