Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
WASHINGTON – Jereal J. Booker, 24, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to a federal firearms offense stemming from his possession of a loaded firearm in March 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Booker pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The Honorable Richard J. Leon scheduled sentencing for October 1, 2024.
According to court papers, on March 21, 2023, an MPD officer observed Booker walking outside a convenience store in a manner that suggested he was carrying a firearm in the front of his pants. An employee of the store then told the officer that he had seen Booker adjusting a firearm in the front of his pants, and he showed the officer surveillance footage that corroborated his account. When the officer attempted to stop Booker in the 4600 block of Livingston Road Southeast, Booker broke into headlong flight. While fleeing the police, Booker discarded the firearm in some bushes before allowing himself to be apprehended. Nearby construction workers who had witnessed the chase alerted the officers to look in the bushes. They did so and recovered a .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun loaded with one chambered round and ten rounds in its magazine. DNA testing later linked the firearm to Booker.
Booker was arrested on March 21, 2023, and remains detained pending sentencing.
Federal law prohibits Booker from possessing a firearm because he has previously been convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, including a 2023 conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and a 2021 conviction for attempted carjacking in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. Booker was on probation for both convictions at the time of this offense.
Booker faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence imposed in this case will be determined by the court after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the officers of the Metropolitan Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney.
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