Man Who Tried to Sell Marijuana in a Northeast Smoke Shop Sentenced to Seven Years for Armed Robbery

WASHINGTON - Kevon Lockerman, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to seven years in prison in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for armed robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Lockman was found guilty on April 5, 2024, of armed robbery with a knife, following a jury trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison term, Superior Court Judge Erik Christian ordered Lockerman to serve five years of supervised release.

According to the government's evidence, on June 15, 2023, the defendant and another man, who was never identified, went into a smoke shop on West Virginia Avenue NE and tried to set up their own business inside, with a scale, a knife, and product they offered for sale. The store's surveillance footage showed that when the complainant walked in, the defendant and his accomplice try to sell the complainant marijuana without success. The defendant handed a knife to his accomplice as the complainant spoke to the store's clerk. When the complainant turned to leave the shop, the defendant and his accomplice blocked the complainant's path. The accomplice gestured toward the knife, which he had tucked in the front of his pants, and the complainant handed the defendant cash. After the two men left together, the complainant turned to the store clerk with tears in his eyes and told him he had been robbed. Police arrested the defendant roughly three weeks later near the same smoke shop.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney's Office, including Paralegal Specialists Abubakar Alawy and Antoinette Sakamsa and Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Renee Prather; Supervisory IT Specialist Leif Hickling; and Investigative Analyst Stephen Jones.

Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Iris McCranie, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Van Haasteren and Matthew Goldstein, who prosecuted the case.