Two Men Sentenced to Prison Terms on Federal Charges for Attack on ATM Employee

            WASHINGTON – Richard Reid, 43, of Washington, D.C., and Dwonne Washington, 43, of Silver Spring, Md., were sentenced today to prison terms for robbing and beating a man who was servicing ATM machines 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 in July 2018 to a charge of interference with interstate commerce by robbery as well as a related federal firearms offense. They were sentenced by the Honorable Rudolph Contreras in the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia. Each was sentenced to a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and additional time for the robbery offense. Reid was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison and Washington was sentenced to a total 8 ½-year prison term. Following their prison terms, each will be placed on five years of supervised release. They also were ordered to pay $52,000 in restitution, as well as $26,000 each in forfeiture money judgments.

            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 sentences, 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 prosecuted the defendants.