1. Man sentenced for crime spree in Montgomery County and Washington D.C.
2. D.C. man receives 16-year sentence for criminal activity in MoCo and District.
Accident – Death – Obituary News : A man from Washington, D.C., has been handed a 16-year prison sentence for a series of armed robberies and carjackings that occurred in early 2022 in Montgomery County and Washington, D.C., as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Azriel Echavarria, aged 22 and affiliated with the Kennedy Street Crew, entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court on January 26 for charges including conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce, conspiracy to commit hijacking, and armed robbery. Court documents revealed that Echavarria confessed to his involvement in two armed carjackings, armed robberies of six individuals, and additional robberies of businesses and their employees.
U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell imposed a sentence of 192 months in prison on Echavarria, along with an additional 60 months of supervised release.
Echavarria was apprehended by Montgomery County police in March 2022 and subsequently charged for a series of offenses committed between February and March of that year. Another individual, Joenathan Nelson, aged 25 at the time and also from Washington, D.C., was arrested by county detectives in connection to the same criminal activities.
On January 12, 2024, a third individual, 26-year-old Tyrell Stewart from Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in the crime spree.
The release did not provide an update on the status of Nelson’s charges.
According to county police reports, the criminal activities involving Echavarria, Nelson, and Stewart began with an armed robbery on February 20, 2022, at a 7-Eleven store in Kensington. The trio, armed with handguns, demanded money from the store’s cash register before fleeing in stolen vehicles.
Following this incident, the suspects allegedly carried out another armed robbery at the Food Stop Mini Mart in Rockville, firing a round but causing no injuries before escaping. One of the stolen vehicles was later used in an armed robbery in Washington, D.C.
Echavarria and Nelson were identified and arrested after a carjacking and two more armed robberies on March 2. The arrests were made possible by surveillance footage, and Stewart was identified at a later date.
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Echavarria, Nelson, and Stewart are members of the Kennedy Street Crew, described as a violent street gang operating in the Kennedy Street neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., and one of the largest crews in the District in terms of territory and membership.
The sentencing of Echavarria serves as a warning to individuals involved in criminal activities, highlighting the consequences of engaging in such acts. The collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies have led to the apprehension and prosecution of those responsible for the crime spree in Montgomery County and Washington, D.C..
D.C. man sentenced crime spree MoCo District
16 years sentenced crime spree MoCo District.
