A 22-year-old man who authorities say struck an MPD detective during a traffic stop before leading police on a chase through three jurisdictions in March has been sentenced to probation rather than prison time, a decision that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is now publicly criticizing. Titus Mayo received a 20-month sentence for unauthorized use of a vehicle, but the term was suspended except for time already served, according to court records cited by WUSA9.
A Chase That Spanned Three Jurisdictions
The case began on March 25, when an MPD detective attempted to stop a white Range Rover near the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Forrester Street in Southwest D.C., according to WUSA9. The driver refused to stop and struck the officer, who was on foot, as reported by WTOP. From there, the pursuit traveled through Prince George's County, Maryland, and across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Virginia, per the same report.
Along the Capital Beltway, Mayo struck a vehicle that had pulled onto the left shoulder in an attempt to avoid the chase, and the driver of that car was taken to a hospital for treatment, WTOP's report notes. He also collided with a Virginia State Police vehicle before the pursuit ended. Mayo was arrested in Virginia and taken to a hospital to be treated for his own injuries, the outlet reported.
Accounts of the MPD officer's condition differ. NBC Washington reported the officer was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while WJLA reported the officer was flown to a hospital by a U.S. Park Police helicopter, treated, and has since been released. WUSA9's report on the sentencing describes the detective as seriously injured.
Pirro Says Sentence Doesn't Fit the Conduct
Pirro, described by WUSA9 as D.C.'s top federal prosecutor and U.S. attorney, posted a video on social media criticizing the outcome of Mayo's case. In it, she said Mayo dragged a detective with his car, tore off the top of his own finger while resisting arrest, fled in a stolen car through two other jurisdictions, and crashed into a civilian's car. She said D.C. Superior Court Judge Jennifer Di Toro sentenced Mayo to probation.
Court records cited by the station show Mayo, who was 22 at sentencing, was placed on 12 months of supervised probation and ordered to complete 90 hours of community service under the District's Youth Rehabilitation Act. The sentencing order reflects incarceration terms imposed on multiple counts that were ultimately suspended. The written judgment did not explain the judge's full reasoning, so the complete basis for the sentence remains unclear.
A Law Meant for Young Offenders
The Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act provides sentencing alternatives for young adult offenders under 22 who are convicted of crimes other than murder, according to the District of Columbia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, subject to statutory exceptions. A separate Superior Court of the District of Columbia data response evaluated YRA-eligible sentences handed down between January 2022 and December 2024, though that data does not establish how often probation has been imposed in cases involving assaults on officers or chases spanning multiple jurisdictions.
Other D.C. cases show starkly different outcomes under the same framework. DC Witness reported that Judge Andrea Hertzfeld declined to sentence a carjacking defendant under the Youth Rehabilitation Act and instead ordered more than 17 years in prison. In a separate 2023 case, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced that two men, ages 20, were sentenced to 17 years and 14 years in prison for their roles in an armed carjacking and robbery spree.
Mayo was convicted on charges stemming from the March incident, though the full charging documents and case record were not available for review. The case is likely to draw renewed attention to how D.C. courts handle sentencing in incidents involving assaults on law enforcement and chases that cross jurisdictional lines.
