District Man Sentenced to 40-Month Prison Term in Robbery of White House Liaison
Victim Accosted While Walking in Northwest Washington

WASHINGTON—Marcellus Chambers, 20, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to three years and four months of incarceration for robbing a White House liaison at gunpoint on a Northwest Washington street in April 2010.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD); James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and David Beach, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service.

Chambers pled guilty in April 2011 to charges of robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the Honorable Robert I. Richter. Upon completion of the prison term, Chambers will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also will be required to undergo drug testing and treatment, and maintain employment or be enrolled in school.

The victim, Kalpen Modi (Kal Penn), is associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and White House Liaison to Young Americans. He was accosted about 1:20 a.m. on April 20, 2010, while walking alone in the 1500 block of S Street NW.

In entering the guilty plea, the defendant admitted that he and another unidentified suspect approached Mr. Modi on foot. When Chambers got close to him, he pulled out what appeared to be a semi-automatic pistol and pointed it at Mr. Modi’s chest. Chambers then pulled the slide on the pistol and released it, effectively, “wracking” the weapon. Mr. Modi asked Chambers what he wanted; the defendant responded, “Everything.”

After Mr. Modi gave Chambers his wallet, Chambers ordered him to the ground, still pointing the gun at him. Mr. Modi got to the ground, face down on the street. Chambers then demanded that he give him his cell phones. After taking the phones, Chambers stood over Mr. Modi for a short period of time before fleeing the scene on foot.

Chambers was arrested in June 2010 after the police tracked him to a number of transactions made with Mr. Modi’s credit cards a short time after the robbery.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Chief Lanier, Assistant Director McJunkin and Special Agent in Charge Beach praised the efforts of those who worked on the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the FBI Washington Field Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force, and the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service.

They especially noted the work of MPD Detective Neil Jones, as well as the dedication of the agents from the FBI and U.S. Secret Service who helped pursue the investigation. They also commended those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Kalisha Johnson-Clark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maia L. Miller and Emily Miller, who prosecuted the case.