Previously Convicted Felon on Probation Sentenced for Possession of Ammunition (DOJ)

WASHINGTON - Charles Washington, Jr., 34, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 27 months in prison for illegally possessing ammunition while he was on probation, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Washington pleaded guilty Nov. 12, 2025, before Judge Reggie B. Walton to one count of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon. In addition to the prison term, Judge Walton ordered Washington to serve three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Metropolitan Police officers responded at 4:05 p.m. on March 12, 2025, to the 2800 block of Alabama Ave. SE, for reported firearms.

Multiple individuals, including Washington, were gathered near a grey car. Washington was seen leaning on the vehicle. As MPD officers arrived, Washington took off running while holding his waistband. At one point, he stopped, hunched over a sewer drain, and appeared to toss an object down the drain. The officers observed Washington was no longer holding his waistband.

Shortly after discarding the item, Washington tripped and officers apprehended him. Officers went to the sewer drain, lifted the manhole cover, and recovered a black "ghost gun," a privately made firearm with a Polymer 80 frame, with an attached Glock 23 slide and barrel, loaded with 12 rounds and one in the chamber.

Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement were ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

This case was investigated by the MPD and the ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole.

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