Indictment Returned under Title 16 on More than 80 Charges for Spring 2023 Crime Spree

Press Release

Defendant and Other Assailants Alleged to Have Committed Armed Carjackings and Armed Robberies

WASHINGTON - Hanif Brown, 18, of Washington, D.C., was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with 81 charges for his role in a criminal conspiracy to commit armed carjackings, armed robberies, identity theft, credit card fraud, and vehicle theft during the Spring of 2023, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced.

A grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia returned an indictment yesterday charging Hanif Brown with conspiracy, two counts of armed carjacking, carjacking of a senior citizen, thirteen counts of armed robbery, sixteen counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, first-degree and second-degree identity theft of senior citizens, credit card fraud of a senior citizen, three counts of first-degree theft, three counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, eight counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle during a crime of violence, and 31 firearm related charges.

Brown was arraigned on August 1, 2024, at a hearing before the Honorable Michael O'Keefe. If convicted, Brown faces mandatory minimum sentences of fifteen years for each armed carjacking, seven years for unarmed carjacking, and five years for each firearm-related offense.

According to the government's evidence, in 2021, Brown and other suspects created a Cash App account using a senior citizen's stolen personal identifying information. Two years later, beginning in March 2023, Brown and his associates commenced a months-long crime spree in which he and his associates stole vehicles and used those vehicles to commit carjackings and gunpoint robberies. During those robberies, Brown and his associates stole currency and jewelry and forced their victims to surrender the passcodes for their phones, which Brown and his associates then accessed to initiate unauthorized monetary transfers via Cash App.

Over a two-week period during the months of March 2023 and April 2023, Brown and his associates committed three armed carjackings - one of which was a brazen attack in the Third Street Tunnel and another in which a senior citizen was the victim. Over this same time period, Brown and his associates committed five armed robberies in D.C. and one in Hyattsville, Maryland, with a total of more than 10 victims. Brown and his associates then used phones stolen from the robbery victims to illegally transfer funds from their Cash App accounts to Brown.

In May 2023, Brown and his associates continued their violent crime spree and committed several more armed robberies - one in which the victim was robbed at gunpoint on H Street NE of the victim's phone, which was subsequently used to illegally transfer funds from the victim to Brown's Cash App account and another in which two victims were robbed of their high-end jewelry at gunpoint. Brown then shared social media posts depicting himself wearing the proceeds from the robbery.

Brown was ultimately arrested on May 15, 2023. He has been in custody since his arrest.

This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

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Updated August 1, 2024