Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
D.C. Man Pleads Guilty to Gun Charge
WASHINGTON – Rodney Burton 35, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Acting SAC Michael Weddel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Chief Robert J. Contee III, of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Burton entered the guilty plea in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 19, 2023.
According to the government’s evidence, on November 22, 2022, the defendant was arrested by the United States Marshals Service (USMS) on an outstanding warrant and was found to be in possession of two firearms. The defendant was in possession of a Springfield Armory XD .45 caliber handgun which contained one round in the chamber and thirteen rounds of ammunition in the magazine with a total capacity of thirteen rounds. The second recovered firearm was a Sig-Sauer P220 .45 caliber handgun with one round of ammunition in the chamber and seven rounds of ammunition in the magazine. Furthermore, on August 12, 2022 officers conducted a search of an apartment where the defendant was known to reside and recovered a black Masterpiece Arms pistols with no rounds in the chamber but with twenty-two rounds of ammunition forced into a twenty round capacity magazine.
In announcing today’s plea, U.S. Attorney Graves, Acting SAC Weddel, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from Project Safe Neighborhood from both the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They acknowledge the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Karla Nunez.
Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant United States Attorney Shehzad Akhtar who investigated and prosecuted the case.