District Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison
For Armed Robberies Targeting Taxicab Drivers
- Defendant Had Drivers Take Him to Secluded Areas, Where He Robbed Them -

     WASHINGTON - Kevin Stoddard, 45, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to 30 years in prison on charges stemming from a series of armed robberies of taxicab drivers in May and June of 2009, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

     Stoddard was convicted by a jury in November 2011, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of four counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted robbery, and weapons-related offenses. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck sentenced him on February 10, 2012.

     According to the government’s evidence, Stoddard targeted five taxicab drivers between May 1 and June 7, 2009. He robbed four victims at gunpoint and attempted to rob another. In all but the final robbery, Stoddard entered the victims’ cabs in the Chinatown area of Northwest Washington, near Seventh and H Streets NW, and asked to be taken to areas that turned out to be secluded locations in Northwest or Northeast Washington, where Stoddard had personal ties.

     Stoddard typically put the drivers at ease by engaging them in conversations about his personal life and family. Many of the details Stoddard told the cab drivers were actually true – and the government and police were able to link him to the robberies with these details.

     Stoddard hailed his fifth victim near Georgia Avenue and Piney Branch Road NW. He directed the driver to the 1300 block of Tuckerman Street NW, where he robbed the driver at gunpoint. This victim reported that, at the time of the robbery, Stoddard was wearing a distinctive yellow shirt with black designs and carrying a beer in a black plastic bag. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) located surveillance videotape from a liquor store less than two blocks from the spot where Stoddard had hailed the cab. The video captures Stoddard wearing the same yellow and black shirt and purchasing a beer in a black bag shortly before the robbery. Stoddard was arrested the following day, June 8, 2009, for another offense.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended MPD Detective Curtis Prince, of the Fourth District, who led the investigation, as well as Detectives Matthew Dailey, Jeffrey Dixon, Eric Roche, Elgin Wheeler, Kimberley Andes, and Ebony Boyd. He also praised the efforts of Officers Karla Oranchak, Daniel Smith, Irving Bolton, Travis Westbrook, Bradley Barnes, David Jarboe, Dale Vernick, and Justin Barney; Crime Scene Search Officers Raymond Bond, Henry Gallagher, and Sgt. Sabrina Rivers; and Fingerprint Examiners Hayward Bennett, Diane Maczyk, Dana Anderson, and Rosalyn Sensabaugh. U.S. Attorney Machen also expressed his appreciation to Paralegals Debra Smith and Kalisha Johnson-Clark, who prepared the case for indictment and trial, and trial team members Kimberly Smith and Durand Odom. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean M. Lewis and Terry Eaton, who tried the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Zubrensky and Allison Barlotta, who investigated and indicted the case, and assisted with trial preparation.

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