Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Carjacking

Greenbelt, Maryland – Dante Tyler-El, age 54, of Landover, Maryland, pleaded guilty carjacking and to using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  Tyler-El entered his guilty plea yesterday.  

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans; and Chief Peter Newsham of the Metropolitan Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, on June 5, 2019, Tyler-El perpetrated three armed robberies, as well as the carjacking to which he is pleading guilty.  As detailed in his plea agreement, at 5:30 a.m. Tyler-El assaulted a victim who was pumping gas at a gas station in Prince Frederick, Maryland, putting a gun in the victim’s face, stealing the victim’s wallets and credit cards, and then placing the victim in handcuffs.

Tyler-El admitted that at 5:00 p.m., he approached a victim who was sitting in her vehicle in a parking lot in Gaithersburg, Maryland, waiting for her daughter to finish a dance class.  Tyler-El, dressed in a neon construction vest and hard hat, approached the victim holding a Walther PK380 pistol, which he put to the victim’s head and demanded money.  Tyler-El then handcuffed the victim and forced her into the back seat of the vehicle, where he restrained her while he rummaged through the vehicle.  When the victim screamed, Tyler-El struck her with the pistol, causing severe bruising on the victim’s face.  After finding the victim’s credit cards, Tyler-El got into the driver’s seat and drove away with the victim still in the back seat.  After driving for some distance, Tyler-El got out of the vehicle and fled.

According to his plea agreement, at 7:00 p.m. Tyler-El, brandishing the pistol and wearing the same neon construction vest and hard hat, robbed a victim outside his apartment building in Hyattsville, Maryland, stealing $150 in cash.  Approximately one hour later, Tyler-El robbed three pedestrians at gunpoint as they walked along Eastern Avenue in Washington, D.C., just across the Maryland border.  Tyler-El admitted that during the robbery he fired the pistol into the air as a show of force to compel the victims’ compliance.  Tyler-El stole credit cards and $6 in cash from the victims.

Tyler-El was stopped by law enforcement early the next morning after crossing the Bay Bridge into Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.  A search of the vehicle recover some of the victims’ credit cards, as well as the loaded Walther PK 380 used during the robberies and carjacking.

Tyler-El and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Tyler-El will be sentenced to 150 months in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has scheduled sentencing for May 12, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.  Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.        

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, and the Metropolitan Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Burden H. Walker, who is prosecuting the case.

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