A Washington D.C. man has been handed a 26-year prison stint for a violent assault that targeted two senior citizens, as stated by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith. The assailant, identified as 38-year-old Travon Eliy, also known under the alias Travon Jackson, was sentenced last Monday, for assault with intent to kill in a gun-free zone among several other charges linked to a broad daylight robbery and shooting incident.
Justice was served in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the Honorable Milton C. Lee, who decided to strictly punish Eliy for his crimes. The case, which grappled with the all-too-serious matter of violence against the aged, saw Eliy convicted on a hefty count of 18 charges on April 18, 2019, wherein the jury found him guilty of armed robbery of a senior citizen in a gun-free zone, in addition to connected assault and firearm offenses. The enhancement for crimes against senior citizens played a crucial part in ultimately issuing an above-guidelines sentence.
The U.S. Attorney's Office detailed the 2016 daylight attack, noting how Eliy followed a 67-year-old woman into her apartment building, brandishing a gun and attempting to snatch her purse. A 61-year-old man intervened, leading to a scuffle wherein Eliy discharged his firearm into the man’s chest. The incident occurred perilously close to Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, underscoring the public risk that Eliy posed.
Metropolitan Police Department officers were able to swiftly arrest Eliy within 10 minutes after the shooting. Applauding police efforts, Graves and Smith have recognized the diligence of MPD's case investigators. Commendations were also directed towards various members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah C. Santiago who was at the forefront to investigate and prosecute the case, among others who contributed markedly. Their concerted work serves, not to simply bring Eliy to justice, but to uphold a measure of safety and accountability for the community’s senior members.
