A 34-year-old D.C. man has been handed a 90-month prison sentence for selling crack cocaine while armed within the confines of a Northwest dollar store. Tavon Lyles, with a history of felony convictions, was sentenced today following a guilty plea entered last October, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Lyles will also be subjected to three years of supervised release after incarceration.
Details disclosed in court documents indicate that the conviction stems from an incident on December 14, 2020, during which Lyles interacted with undercover officers conducting a buy-bust operation. After initially making change for a $100 bill, revealing a plastic bag with smaller packets of a white rock-like substance believed to be crack cocaine, Lyles later sold two packets to the undercover agents for $40. The transactions occurred inside the Dollar Plus store, located in the 1400 block of North Capitol Street, NW.
The Metropolitan Police Department's Narcotics and Special Investigations Division (NSID) spearheaded the operation, which culminated in a brief struggle as officers moved to arrest Lyles. A search revealed a Glock 22 semi-automatic handgun with a high-capacity magazine on his person and a total of 32.73 grams of cocaine base. Alongside the drugs, officers recovered cash, including money that had been previously marked by law enforcement. According to the statement from U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and MPD's Chief Pamela A. Smith, Lyles admitted to knowing he possessed the loaded firearm and ammunition and was aware of his prior felony status. The gravity of Lyles' actions is reflected in the sentence, highlighting the ongoing efforts to combat the illegal drug trade within the district. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole led the prosecution, underscored by a collaborative approach that involved the MPD.
