District Man Found Guilty of Violent Sexual Assault from May 2006
A Evidence Helped Tie Defendant to Crime

WASHINGTON—A 27-year-old District of Columbia man, Ronnie Legette, Jr., has been found guilty of a violent armed sexual assault and kidnapping in the Northeast area of Washington, D.C. that occurred in May 2006, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

Legette, formerly of 610 Morton Street, NW, was found guilty earlier today by a jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of three counts of first degree sexual abuse while armed, one count of kidnapping while armed, one count of armed robbery, one count of felony threats and six related weapons offenses, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

When he is sentenced on October 8, 2010, by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz, the defendant will face up to 30 years on each count of first degree sexual abuse while armed and kidnapping while armed. Under the District of Columbia Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, Legette faces a likely sentence of 14 to 26 years in prison on each count of first degree sexual abuse while armed and 9½-17 years in prison on the count of kidnapping while armed.

According to the government’s evidence, on May 14, 2006, in the early morning hours, Legette kidnapped the 20-year-old victim at gunpoint from a bus stop on Benning Road, NE, where she was waiting for a bus on her way to work. Legette ordered the victim, who is a transgender man living as a woman, to walk across the street and into an alley, where he led her to the basement of an abandoned house. Once inside, Legette violently raped her at gunpoint multiple times, after which he robbed her of money and a cell phone. Following his attack, Legette walked the victim back out to the street, where he let her go. The victim returned home and immediately reported the crime to a family member, who called the police.

The victim was taken to Howard University Hospital, where a sexual assault examination was conducted. The swabs taken from the victim during the examination were sent to the FBI Laboratory and Bode Technology for serological and DNA testing. The male DNA profile found on one of these swabs was placed into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a web of state and national databases containing DNA profiles from convicted offenders and crime scenes that is used as an investigative tool. The defendant was identified as a suspect through a CODIS search and DNA “cold hit.” Bode Technology then did further DNA testing, which confirmed the link between Legette and the crime. At trial, the government also presented evidence relating to a prior armed rape and kidnapping that Legette had committed in March 2000.

In announcing the jury’s verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Detectives Derek Bolding and Wandella Fields, and Mobile Crime Officer James Holder, who did an exemplary job investigating the case, processing the scene and working with the victims and other witnesses. He also praised the work of the FBI Forensic Examiner, and DNA Analysts Jennifer Himrod and Brian Adams from Bode Technology. U.S. Attorney Machen also praised the work of Officer Zunnobia Hakir and Sgt. Brett Parson of the MPD Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, as well as the work of Sergeant Jimmie Thompson, Detective Wallace Carmichael, MPD Forensic Biologist Nikia Coomber, and Mobile Crime Technicians George Klein and Jay Gregory. He also commended the work of Legal Intern Kathleen Mee, Paralegals Lynita Greene and Jason Manuel, Legal Assistant Nicole Lee, Intelligence Analysts Larry Grasso, Sharon Johnson, Shannon Alexis and Bill Hamann, and Leif Hickling, Joshua Ellen, Paul Howell and Ron Royal from Litigation Services, all of whom provided critical support in preparing for trial. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his special appreciation to Victim/Witness Advocate Melissa Milam who worked closely with the victim and other witnesses, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Last and Peter Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case.