Assault of Two Senior Citizens Gets DC Man 26 Year Prison Term

Press Release

Defendant Dragged Senior Citizen Down a Set of Steps and Shot Another Who Attempted to Help

WASHINGTON - Travon Eliy, also known as Travon Jackson, 38, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced for assault with intent to kill a senior citizen in a gun-free zone and other charges stemming from a robbery and daytime shooting that took place behind an elementary school in Southeast Washington. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

On December 9, 2024, the Honorable Milton C. Lee sentenced Eliy to 26 years in prison for his role in the attacks on both elderly victims. These charges carry an enhancement for crimes against senior citizens, which resulted in the above-guidelines sentence. Eliy was found guilty on April 18, 2019, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The jury also found him guilty of a total of 18 charges, including armed robbery of a senior citizen in a gun-free zone, and related assault and firearms offenses.

According to the government's evidence, on the afternoon of April 1, 2016, the victim, a 67-year-old woman, was walking home when she was followed by Eliy into an apartment building in the 600 block of Savannah Street S.E. Once inside, Eliy put a gun to her head and began pulling at her purse. Eliy dragged her out of the building and down a walkway before getting away with her purse. The woman screamed for help and a Good Samaritan, a 61-year-old man, intervened. The man was able to stop Eliy by pushing him up against a parked car. It was then that Eliy fired his gun one time at close range into the man's chest before fleeing the scene. The shooting took place in broad daylight behind Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School.

MPD officers stopped the defendant within 10 minutes of the shooting.

In announcing the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney's Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Lenerz; former Special Counsel for DNA and Forensic Evidence Litigation Michael Ambrosino; former Forensic Operations Program Specialist Elizabeth Marrero; former Paralegal Specialists Kathryn Hoey, Sabrina Turner; former Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames, and former Finance Specialists Karen Lee-Putt, Marquetta Little and Sallie Rynas and Paralegal Specialists Lynda Randolph and Lashone Samuels.

Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah C. Santiago, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

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Updated December 13, 2024