Evergreen Reporter

A federal jury has found Naquel Matao Henderson, 27, from Washington, D.C., guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, robbery, and unlawful possession of Oxycodone. The verdict came after a six-day trial and was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

This case falls under the Make D.C. Safe Again initiative, led by U.S. Attorney Martin. The initiative aims to reduce violent crime in the District of Columbia, focusing on federal firearms violations, enforcing stricter penalties, and seeking detention for violators.

United States District Judge Timothy J. Kelly has set Henderson's sentencing for July 3, 2025. Henderson has remained in detention since his arrest concerning this case.

During the trial, evidence demonstrated that on June 24, 2024, Henderson collided with a car while riding an electric scooter. After an argument, he reportedly pushed the female driver and forcibly took her cross-body satchel before fleeing. The incident was recorded by surveillance cameras and witnessed by numerous people, including an MPD Commander who quickly called for assistance.

When a responding MPD patrol officer tried to detain Henderson, he resisted and attempted to run away. The officer and the MPD Commander pursued him into an alley, witnessing him carrying a handgun. Henderson was apprehended, and his firearm, a .45 caliber Glock, was confiscated. The weapon was loaded with one round in the chamber and fourteen in the magazine.

Following Henderson's arrest, law enforcement found fifty 10mg Oxycodone pills in his possession, distributed between two pill bottles not prescribed to him.

Henderson's criminal history includes felony convictions in both the D.C. Superior Court and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, barring him from legally possessing a firearm. At the time of his arrest, he was also on pretrial release for charges related to violent offenses, among them conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder while armed in D.C. Superior Court.

The MPD conducted the investigation, and the prosecution was carried out by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shehzad Akhtar and James B. Nelson, supported by Paralegal Specialist Melissa Macechko.