Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robberies of Hispanic Construction Workers

Press Release

Victims Were Targeted and Robbed in the Trinidad Neighborhood During a Spree in 2023

WASHINGTON - Franco Rawlings Jr. pleaded guilty today to robbing several Hispanic construction workers in the Trinidad neighborhood at gunpoint throughout 2023, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves announced.

Rawlings pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to two counts of armed robbery, one count of robbery, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 4, 2024 before the Honorable Errol Arthur. As part of his sentence, Rawlings faces mandatory minimum sentences of five years in prison for each armed robbery offense and one year in prison for the unlawful possession of a firearm offense.

According to the March 6, 2024 indictment, from May to June of 2023, Rawlings conspired with a co-conspirator to identify residential construction sites within the Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast, Washington, D.C., staffed by Hispanic workers and to rob those Hispanic workers using firearms. The indictment also charged Rawlings with a solo armed robbery that he allegedly committed in April 2023.

According to the government's evidence, with which Rawlings agreed, on April 18, 2023, a victim was working as a welder on a home located in the 1400 block of Montello Avenue Northeast, in the Trinidad neighborhood, when Rawlings approached him in an alleyway. Rawlings pointed a gun at the victim and told him not to move. Rawlings then searched the victim and took his wallet, which contained $700 dollars in cash. On May 30, 2023, two victims were working to install a deck at a home located in the 1300block of Montello Avenue Northeast, also in the Trinidad neighborhood, when Rawlings and his co-conspirator approached them through a rear, open gate. Rawlings and his co-conspirator pointed firearms at the victims and told them to go into the basement of the home. There, Rawlings forced one of the victims to the ground and robbed him while the co-conspirator robbed the other victim. On June 27, 2023, three victims were working to remodel a home in the 1100 block of Owen Place Northeast, also in the Trinidad neighborhood, when Rawlings and his co-conspirator entered through the rear of the residence. As Rawlings entered, he pointed a firearm at the victims and told them not to move and to put their hands up. Rawlings, with the aid of his co-conspirator, robbed a victim of U.S. currency and fled.

On June 28, 2023, police searched Rawlings' residence, which was located in the Trinidad neighborhood. There, police found Rawlings in possession of a black Glock 19 handgun, which was loaded with 12 rounds in a 17-round-capacity magazine. At the time police recovered the firearm, Rawlings had been previously convicted of a felony that prevented him from possessing a firearm in the District of Columbia.

The defendant was arrested on June 28, 2023, and has been in custody ever since.

This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

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

Updated August 30, 2024