WASHINGTON — Two young men convicted in a September 2024 armed carjacking in Northeast Washington have received fully suspended sentences under the District’s Youth Rehabilitation Act, despite federal prosecutors seeking lengthy prison terms.
Julan Byrd, 18, of Temple Hills, Maryland, was sentenced Friday, February 27, 2026, in Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Byrd, who was 17 at the time of the offense and charged pursuant to Title 16, pleaded guilty on November 17, 2025, to one count of armed robbery and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Prosecutors requested a sentence of seven years in prison — the top of the applicable sentencing guidelines — followed by three years of supervised release. However, Superior Court Judge Jennifer DiToro sentenced Byrd to a fully suspended 60-month sentence with 12 months of supervised probation under the Youth Rehabilitation Act. The sentence was imposed over the government’s objection. The Act permits judges to impose sentences below mandatory minimum terms for eligible youth offenders.
Byrd was arrested on September 30, 2024, and remained in custody until October 4, 2024, when he was released on electronic monitoring over the government’s objection.
Co-defendant Antonio Kent, 20, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced January 14, 2026, after pleading guilty to one count of armed robbery and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Prosecutors also sought seven years of incarceration in Kent’s case. Judge DiToro sentenced Kent to a fully suspended 48-month sentence with two years of probation under the Youth Rehabilitation Act, again over the government’s objection.
Kent remained in custody from February 28, 2025, until his sentencing on January 14, 2026.
Neither defendant will serve additional jail time if they successfully complete their probation terms.
According to court documents, on September 1, 2024, Byrd, Kent and a third suspect approached a man washing his vehicle in the 5500 block of Jay Street NE. One suspect displayed a handgun and took the victim’s car keys before the group fled in the stolen vehicle.
Byrd drove the vehicle to the Pentagon parking lot, where the suspects abandoned it and fled on foot. Authorities reported that both Byrd and Kent discarded handguns while running. When apprehended, Byrd was wearing the victim’s key lanyard around his neck.
Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll joined U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro in announcing the sentences. Officials credited the Metropolitan Police Department for leading the investigation, with assistance from the Arlington County Police Department, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency and the Virginia State Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Roberts and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Luca Winer prosecuted the cases.
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Turn ’em loose and repeat!
Turn ’em loose and repeat!
Turn ’em loose and repeat!
Perhaps if these judicial phenoms had these crimes committed against one of their own family, they might change their minds of how the law is ‘SUPPOSED’ to work. Naw.
I guess I don’t know all the facts. However, I think a suspended sentence for these dangerous people is totally ridiculous!
No punishment means more crime. Shows people and the criminals there are no repercussions for being a turd.
Why even waste the time to lock them up if the judge isn’t going to punish them. How does the victim feel amd supposed to go on in life knowing that these people are right back on the streets.
Note everywhere it says they were released “to the government’s objection” Muurlin judges have no spine.
Just don’t live there. Move to Virginia.
Courts here might actually do something