District Woman Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison For Murder of Man at Northwest Washington Hotel

            WASHINGTON – Jamyra Gallmon, 21, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for the Feb. 9, 2015 murder of David Messerschmitt in a robbery at a downtown Washington hotel, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Gallmon pled guilty on May 27, 2015, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of second-degree murder while armed. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentence between 18 and 25 years. The Honorable Michael Ryan accepted the plea today and sentenced Gallmon accordingly. Upon completion of her 24-year prison term, Gallmon will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            Also today, Judge Ryan sentenced a co-defendant, Dominique Johnson, 19, for her role in events on the day of the crime. Johnson, also of Washington, D.C., pled guilty on May 27, 2015 to a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery. Judge Ryan sentenced Johnson to a year of incarceration, but suspended all but six months of that time on the condition that she successfully complete three years of probation.

            “Jamyra Gallmon planned and carried out a cold-hearted scam to trick David Messerschmitt for the purpose of robbing him,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen.  “Then she repeatedly stabbed him when he tried to fight back. After leaving Mr. Messerschmitt to die from his wounds, she met up with Dominique Johnson and they rode a bus home together with the proceeds of the crime. The sentences handed down today hold both of them accountable for their callous crimes and hopefully will warn others who are even considering such senseless violence.”

            Mr. Messerschmitt, 30, was killed on the evening of Feb. 9, 2015. He was attacked while a guest at the Donovan Hotel, in the 1100 block of 14^th Street NW. According to the government’s evidence, Mr. Messerschmitt posted an advertisement earlier that day on Craigslist soliciting responses from other men. Gallmon pretended to be a man interested in meeting Mr. Messerschmitt and responded to his advertisement by e-mail. In fact, however, her true purpose in meeting with him was to rob him of his possessions.

            Gallmon and Mr. Messerschmitt arranged to meet at approximately 7:30 p.m. in his hotel room. Gallmon walked into the hotel at 7:44 p.m., concealing her identity by wearing a jacket with a hood up and a covering over the bottom half of her face. She then entered Mr. Messerschmitt’s unlocked room. She attempted to rob him, and, when Mr. Messerschmitt fought back, she stabbed him approximately seven times in his chest, groin area, arm, and back.

            During the robbery, Gallmon took Mr. Messerschmitt’s cell phone and SmarTrip Metro card. She then left the room and immediately made her way out of the hotel, once again disguising her identity by wearing a jacket with the hood up.

            According to the government’s evidence, Gallmon and Johnson had discussed committing a robbery and traveled together to the hotel on the night of the murder. Johnson subsequently used Mr. Messerschmitt’s SmarTrip card on a near-daily basis for about six weeks.

            Gallmon was arrested April 1, 2015 and Johnson was arrested seven days later.

            In announcing the sentences, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen and Chief Lanier commended the work of the detectives, officers, and others who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, Paralegal Specialist Vanessa Trent-Valentine, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Donovan. Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana L. Fulton, who investigated and prosecuted the case.