Washington DC Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for the Armed Robbery of a Capitol Heights Barbershop

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced Akeem Bolton, age 29, of Washington, D.C., to nine years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for an armed commercial robbery and for brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to Bolton’s guilty plea, on November 26, 2018, Bolton and his co-defendant drove to a barbershop in Capitol Heights, Maryland, and spoke with two employees outside of the shop, pretending to be potential customers.  The two left and went to a convenience store across the street, then returned to the barbershop.  Bolton’s co-defendant sat in the barbershop chair while an employee prepared to cut his hair.  The co-defendant drew a handgun and pointed it at the employee, while Bolton struck a second employee in the back of the head with a handgun.

As detailed in the plea agreement, Bolton and his co-defendant then forced the employees to the back of the store and pulled the blinds down over the windows of the barbershop.  Bolton and the co-conspirator forced the employees to strip naked and lie face down on the floor with their hands behind their heads, and ordered them to count to 1,000.  Bolton and the co-conspirator robbed the employees of their cellphones, money, and jewelry.  The robbers threatened to kill the employees if they moved while they counted to 1,000.  Bolton and the co-conspirator demanded to know where additional money was located in the store and threatened to kill the employees when they were unable to locate additional money.  Bolton and the co-conspirator again threatened to kill the employees if they reported the robbery, then left the barbershop with the personal belongings of the employees. 

When Bolton was arrested, a black 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which was used in the robbery, was recovered from his person.  A search of the co-defendant’s residence recovered a distinctive silver necklace stolen from one of the barbershop employees and a silver and black .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Dick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Hernandez, who are prosecuting the case.

# # #