Washington, D.C. Man Admits to Participating in the Kidnapping of a Victim at Maryland Hotel and Casino

Greenbelt, Maryland – Christopher Allen Young, a/k/a “40,” age 26, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, in connection with the kidnapping of a victim from a Maryland hotel and casino. 

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to Young’s guilty plea, on February 3, 2021, co-conspirators 1 and 2 met Victim A at a Maryland casino and hotel, and falsely promised Victim A that they would get women for Victim A if Victim A accompanied them to Southeast Washington, D.C.  At approximately 7:30 a.m., Victim A agreed to get into co-conspirator 1’s vehicle with co-conspirators 1 and 2 and they drove from the casino and hotel to Washington, D.C.

As detailed in the plea agreement, at 8:12 a.m., Young received a call from co-conspirator 2.  A minute later, Young called co-conspirator 3 to report that co-conspirators 1 and 2 had “snatched” Victim A and all Young and co-conspirator 3 had to do was sit in the car with Victim A while co-conspirators 1 and 2 robbed Victim A.  Young advised co-conspirator 3 that he was going to split the proceeds of the robbery with co-conspirators 1 and 2, and would pay co-conspirator 3 from his share.  Young added that, if Victim A “gets feisty, I don’t want to have to crush him.”

A short time later, co-conspirators 1 and 2 arrived in Southeast D.C. with Victim A, and Young and co-conspirator 3 got in the car.  Co-conspirator 2 pointed a gun at Victim A, and Young and the co-conspirators took Victim A’s personal items, including Victim A’s wallet, cellphone, and watch (which had been purchased for approximately $500), and the key to Victim A’s hotel room.  Young and the co-conspirators then demanded the code to the safe in Victim A’s hotel room.  After Victim A refused to provide the code to the safe, co-conspirator 2 struck Victim A in the forehead with the gun, and Victim A gave up the code to his safe.  Co-conspirator 2 then forced Victim A out of the vehicle. 

Young and co-conspirator 3 then exited the vehicle with Victim A, while co-conspirators 1 and 2 drove back to the casino and hotel.  Young and co-conspirator 3 then led Victim A, at gunpoint, to a boiler room inside an apartment building in Southeast D.C., and co-conspirator 3 called co-conspirator 4 to ask him to look out for police or anyone else who might be near enough to hear or see Young and co-conspirator 3 with Victim A.  

Inside the boiler room, Young and co-conspirator 3 physically assaulted Victim A and threatened his life.  Young and co-conspirator 3 also demanded that Victim A disclose the PIN number for his ATM card, which was in Victim A’s wallet that they had taken, and to provide details about Victim A’s hotel room, including what was in the safe.

According to the plea agreement, co-conspirators 1 and 2 were seen on surveillance footage leaving Victim A’s hotel room with a backpack and roller suitcase, which contained items they had stolen from the room, including an Xbox, at least $1,500 in MGM Casino chips, and approximately $6,000 in cash.  The total value of the property stolen from Victim A during the kidnapping was at least $8,000.

When Young and co-conspirator 3 learned that co-conspirators 1 and 2 had finished stealing property from Victim A’s hotel room, they left the boiler room, leaving Victim A.  They were seen by law enforcement at approximately 10:57 a.m. walking away from the area of the boiler room, getting into Young’s vehicle, and driving away.  Just a few moments later, law enforcement located Victim A near the apartment building, with blood running down his face and a wound on his forehead.  Victim A also appeared to have suffered cuts on his mouth and eye, and a broken nose.  At about that same time, Young and his co-conspirators discussed the kidnapping and robbery during a phone call.  Young told the co-conspirators that he was not worried about Victim A talking to law enforcement because Victim A was too afraid after Young and co-conspirator 3 had threatened him.  Young said he told Victim A, “If the police come, or anything come, I got your address.  Mom…your little brother, all them is gone!”

Young and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Young will be sentenced to 126 months in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for May 5, 2022 at 2 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.  PSN, an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime, is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  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 an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI Washington and Baltimore Field Offices for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey J. Izant, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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