Elmer Bonilla, a 23-year-old resident of the District of Columbia, has been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for his involvement in a violent carjacking conspiracy that took place across the District and Maryland. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Bonilla entered a guilty plea on May 30, 2025, before Judge Rudolph Contreras to one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and aiding and abetting.
Court documents show that on January 24, 2024, Bonilla and two accomplices were driving an SUV in Northwest Washington when they blocked a Dodge Challenger. Two armed and masked individuals confronted the driver, assaulted him, and stole his vehicle.
The following day, Bonilla and his co-conspirators targeted another victim in Hyattsville, Maryland. They used a white Kia Sportage to block a black BMW in a pharmacy parking lot. Two armed men wearing ski masks threatened the BMW’s driver with a gun before taking the car. The stolen BMW was then driven away while the Kia followed.
On January 26, after one of Bonilla’s co-defendants, Gregory Giron, was arrested, Bonilla and two others went to Giron's residence in a tan SUV. One individual entered the house with a key and later left carrying a white trash bag. Police stopped the vehicle as it departed. Dylan Giron was identified as the person who had entered the home; he was accompanied by his girlfriend (the driver), Bonilla, and Christian Rodriguez. While Dylan Giron was inside the house, Bonilla and Rodriguez instructed him via text message to remove evidence.
Several months later, on August 6, 2024, Bonilla participated in stealing a 2021 Infiniti Q50 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The stolen car contained identification and bank cards belonging to its owner; these items were found during a search of Rodriguez’s residence.
The next day in Silver Spring, Bonilla broke into another vehicle and took a wallet that was also recovered from Rodriguez’s residence. That same day, he and other conspirators stole a Corvette in Alexandria, Virginia using an Autel device; this device was later found in Bonilla’s possession. On August 9, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Bonilla’s home where they discovered several items including a Glock magazine hidden in a crawl space, a BB gun resembling a 1911 pistol model, $3,920 cash, what appeared to be narcotics packaged as white rocks, and an electronic key fob.
Multiple law enforcement agencies collaborated on this case: Metropolitan Police Department; Prince George’s County Police; Baltimore County Police; Alexandria City Police Department; and FBI Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caelainn Carney prosecuted the case with support from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Martin.
"The firearm police recovered from Bonilla’s residence."
"A baggie of white, rock-like substance that police recovered from Bonilla’s residence."
"A programmable key fob recovered from Bonilla’s residence."
