A Washington, D.C. man who tried to hide a loaded handgun inside a washing machine while running from police has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison. Michael Ralph Collins, 33, was sentenced to 71 months behind bars followed by three years of supervised release for unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.
According to WJLA, Collins fled from police before officers found a loaded Ruger .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun inside an open washing machine in a laundry room, where prosecutors say he tried to conceal it during the pursuit. U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell, who presided over Collins's guilty plea in May, imposed the sentence on Thursday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Collins had pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.
The timing of the offense drew sharp words from federal prosecutors. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in the DOJ's statement that Collins “wasted no time after his release from custody” before rearming himself and attempting to hide his weapon in a washing machine while fleeing police. Prosecutors say Collins had been released from custody less than two weeks before the firearm offense, per the same account.
A Record That Includes Carjacking and Burglary
Collins's criminal history factored heavily into the case. Court records cited by WJLA show he was convicted of armed robbery in 2013 and attempted burglary in 2011, and was convicted of armed carjacking in 2025 shortly before his release and subsequent rearrest. Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Liss prosecuted the case, which was investigated jointly by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division.
Federal prosecutions like this one are brought under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), a statute that bars anyone previously convicted of a felony punishable by more than a year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition, as Hoodline has previously reported. Judge Howell, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2010 by President Barack Obama, served as chief judge from 2016 to 2023 and took senior status in February 2024, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Part of a Broader Federal Crackdown
Collins's sentencing came the same day federal prosecutors in D.C. secured another felon-in-possession conviction under the same enforcement push, sentencing 32-year-old Tremayne Coombs to 36 months in prison after police recovered a loaded Glock pistol from a car. Coombs was on supervised release at the time of his arrest, the Justice Department noted.
Both cases fall under the “Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful” initiative, established after a March 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump directing a surge of federal law enforcement personnel, prioritized federal gun prosecutions, and pretrial detention for firearms violators in the capital. As of Thursday, the task force reported making more than 16,000 arrests and seizing over 2,000 illegal firearms across Washington, D.C. since its launch, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The volume of weapons moving through D.C. streets remains high even outside the federal task force's tally. The Metropolitan Police Department has reported recovering dozens of illegal firearms in a single week through targeted patrols, seizing 49 in one August 2025 stretch alone. The department also offers cash rewards of up to $2,500 for community tips leading to arrests and gun recoveries.
The Collins case echoes other recent felon-in-possession sentencings handed down in D.C. federal court under the same initiative, including an April case in which a felon caught with a loaded Glock after a foot pursuit received 40 months, and another involving a man sentenced after boarding a Metro bus with a shotgun.
