26-year-old Washington D.C. resident Devin Devaun was handed down a 30-month federal prison sentence for unlawful possession of a revolver and ammunition. The U.S. Attorney's Office reported that Devaun's December 2023 arrest came while he was already under supervised release from two prior convictions of the same offense.
During a bench trial in November 2024 where the facts were agreed upon by both sides, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan found Devaun guilty as charged and furthermore, mandated a subsequent three years of supervised release following his incarceration. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Devaun was confronted by officers of the Metropolitan Police Department, who were patrolling in response to a string of robberies.
The police, who had issued a "be on the lookout for" alert regarding one of these robberies, observed Devaun and at least three other individuals jaywalking and acting in a suspicious manner that fit the BOLO description., as detailed by the U.S. Department of Justice. An officer soon noticed Devaun with a rectangular-shaped object in his pants, which was then identified as a firearm during a foot chase and subsequent pat-down search. The revolver, a .357 caliber loaded with six rounds, was confiscated after being removed from his pants leg by the officers.
With a criminal history that includes a 2016 robbery conviction and two convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm in 2017 and 2021, Devaun was barred from legally possessing a firearm. The case was investigated by the MPD’s Violent Crimes Suppression Division’s Robbery Suppression Unit and prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Svetoslavov. Assistance in the case was provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Mirabelli.
