Gerard Stokes, 31, of Greenbelt, Maryland, was sentenced Friday to 36 months in prison after driving an all‑terrain vehicle into two Metropolitan Police Department officers on U Street NW last March. One officer was dragged roughly 15 feet and suffered a concussion and a fractured jaw, while the other was clipped and treated at a hospital. Stokes pleaded guilty in December to felony assault on a police officer and will be placed on supervised release after completing his prison term.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Honorable Errol Arthur handed down the sentence and ordered three years of supervised release to follow Stokes’s prison term. “Today, my office held accountable a criminal who attacked two Metropolitan Police Department officers,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said, adding that Stokes would serve three years behind bars.
What happened on U Street
The Metropolitan Police Department says officers from the Third District approached a group of ATV riders outside a gas station in the 1400 block of U Street NW on March 15, 2025. Stokes reportedly “popped a wheelie” and then accelerated toward the officers, striking two of them. Surveillance footage captured his distinctive helmet, clothing and a blue ATV, which detectives later used to identify him, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
Arrest and investigation
Officials say Stokes was arrested on August 16, 2025, in Greenbelt during a regional public‑safety operation. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, agents located Stokes and a subsequent search of his home turned up multiple firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Court timeline and charges
Stokes pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of felony assault on a police officer in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The case, listed under docket number 2025CF3009570, was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kadian Carter and Maggie Sullivan, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, and was resolved before Judge Errol Arthur.
Local context
Neighbors and local outlets raised alarms after the March assault, and ran an early report when MPD released surveillance footage and offered a reward for tips. As noted by FOX 5 DC and other outlets, the sentence comes amid ongoing concerns about illegal dirt‑bike and ATV riding across the District.
The three‑year prison term closes a high‑profile chapter in the U Street case, but city officials say interagency patrols and enforcement will continue as they try to curb dangerous street riding. The injured officer remains in recovery, and prosecutors say the sentence is intended to send a clear message that attacks on officers will be pursued aggressively.
