Two Men Plead Guilty to Federal Charges in Attack on ATM Employee

            WASHINGTON – Richard Reid, 43, of Washington, D.C. and Dwonne Washington, 43, of Silver Spring, Md., have pled guilty to federal charges for robbing and beating a man who was servicing ATM machines last fall in Northwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Division of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Both men pled guilty to a charge of interference with interstate commerce by robbery as well as a related federal firearms offense. Reid entered his guilty plea on July 11, 2018, in the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, and Washington entered his plea on the following day. Both men face mandatory minimum sentences of seven years in prison for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and additional time for the robbery offense. Under sentencing guidelines, Reid faces a likely total range of 125 to 135 months in prison and Washington faces an estimated 117 to 125 months. The Honorable Rudolph Contreras scheduled sentencing for Oct. 2, 2018. Both men remain held pending sentencing.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 15, 2017, the victim was refilling ATM machines owned by his company throughout the Washington, D.C. area.  The attack took place after the victim had refilled an ATM machine located inside a market in the 300 block of P Street NW. At 1:45 p.m., as the victim was walking to his car with a backpack filled with cash, he was attacked from behind by two assailants.

            The first assailant, Washington, pistol-whipped the victim with a firearm while the second assailant, Reid, beat the victim with his fists.  Both Washington and Reid wrestled the backpack off the victim’s back and fled the area in a vehicle.  During the attack, which was captured on surveillance video, the victim’s nose was broken.

            An investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department revealed that the getaway vehicle used by the assailants was registered to Washington.  Witnesses then identified Washington in the surveillance video and he was arrested the day after the crime.  He has been held ever since.  Subsequent investigation by MPD and the FBI’s Washington Field Office identified a phone dropped on scene as belonging to Reid, and a witness identified him in the surveillance video.  He was arrested on Feb. 23, 2018 and has been held since that time. 

            In announcing the pleas, U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu, Special Agent in Charge DeSarno, and Chief Newsham commended the work of MPD’s Fifth District detectives and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Vanore and Sumit Mallick, who successfully prosecuted the defendants.