Van Robinson, 44, from the District of Columbia, was sentenced to 101 months in federal prison for his role in the "21st and Vietnam" crew, a violent drug gang that operated in Northeast Washington D.C. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“Robinson was a key member of a crew that menaced our community around 21st Street and Maryland Avenue for years with its toxic mix of lethal drugs and random violence,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “With Robinson’s sentencing today, the 21st and Vietnam crew has definitively been put out of business.”
Robinson, also known as “Boogie,” pleaded guilty on March 19, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine as well as possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. In addition to his prison sentence, Judge Beryl A. Howell ordered Robinson to serve three years of supervised release.
Court documents show that the "21st and Vietnam" crew distributed large quantities of crack cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs in the area. The group was connected to two shootings: one on March 7, 2024, where Charles Manson fired at a passerby near their open-air drug market; and another on April 19, 2024—a drive-by shooting by Briyon Shuford and Trevon Palmer—that wounded four people.
Law enforcement observed Robinson regularly at an apartment complex on the 1900 block of I Street NE during their investigation. The complex served as headquarters for the gang's activities. During a search warrant executed on May 15, 2024, at Robinson’s residence, police recovered a loaded Glock 27 handgun, about 14 grams of suspected fentanyl, and various items related to drug trafficking.
Robinson is the last member of the group to be sentenced in this case. Other sentences included:
- Damien Jenkins (“Woe”): 151 months
- Trevon Palmer (“Rocky”): 192 months
- Charles Manson (“Cheese”): 170 months
- Jamiek Bassil (“Onion”): 135 months
- Nathaniel Russell (“Thump”): 42 months
- Briyon Shuford (“Breezy”): 161 months
- Jason Green: 115 months
- Ahmed Mikal Bailey: 30 months
- Jerome Powell: 27 months
- Lydell Douglas: 24 months
- Abrian Walker: one year with six months home confinement
The investigation involved collaboration between several agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division Office (DEA), FBI Washington Field Office (FBI), Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Duvall and Solomon Eppel prosecuted the case.
