Two Silver Spring, Maryland, men will spend the better part of the next decade in prison after a failed armed robbery attempt in Northeast D.C. involving a baby almost two years ago.
Before sentencing Kenneth Vann, 43, and Jose Gonzalez, 48, to six and eight years in prison respectively, District Court Judge Christopher Cooper heard the case against them, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
Back in November 2022, prosecutors said the men traveled to D.C. with the intent of robbing an illegal marijuana dispensary they knew about. They intended to rob the man of marijuana and cash.
When they broke into the apartment, they found the owner inside with his wife, infant child and female friend, according to prosecutors.
Initially, the man put Vann into a chokehold, attempting to get one of the 9 mm semi-automatic revolvers away from the two intruders, but when Gonzalez pointed his gun at the women and child, he relented, according to prosecutors.
Then the intruders bound and gagged the adults and put the child in a baby swing while they attempted to ransack the apartment. But the dispensary owner managed to get the duct tape off his mouth and call for help. A neighbor heard him and called 911. Prosecutors said police arrived and arrested the two before they were able to escape.