WASHINGTON — A Greenbelt, Maryland, man was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for driving an all-terrain vehicle into two Metropolitan Police Department officers during a patrol in Northwest Washington last year.
Gerard Stokes, 31, was sentenced Feb. 20, 2026, in Superior Court of the District of Columbia to 36 months of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Stokes pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of felony assault on a police officer.
The sentence was imposed by Judge Errol Arthur.
According to prosecutors, the incident occurred March 15, 2025, as officers patrolled near 1442 U Street NW. Police observed a group of individuals on ATVs gathered outside a gas station and drove toward the group before exiting their cruiser to approach them.
Authorities stated that Stokes then lifted his ATV into a wheelie and drove directly at two officers. One officer was clipped in the shoulder, while another was struck head-on and dragged approximately 15 feet beneath the ATV.
The officer who was struck suffered multiple lacerations to the head and face, a concussion and a fractured jaw, according to court records.
Investigators later identified Stokes as the rider of the ATV through CCTV footage that captured his distinctive clothing, helmet and blue ATV, prosecutors said.
Stokes was arrested Aug. 16, 2025, and has remained in custody since that time.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro described the assault as a serious attack on law enforcement and emphasized that such conduct would be aggressively prosecuted. Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll joined in announcing the sentence.
The case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kadian Carter and Maggie Sullivan.
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