Malik Mingo Gets 13+ Years for Back-to-Back Armed Robberies

Two armed robberies. One week. A black Infinity SUV seen fleeing both scenes. Malik Mingo, 20, of Washington, D.C., is now locked up for 13 years and five months after terrorizing two Southeast businesses in September 2015, leaving victims shaken and one small child caught in the crossfire.

On September 19, 2015, at 12:50 p.m., Mingo and at least two others, all masked, stormed Pizza Bolis in the 1500 block of Alabama Avenue SE. A gun was pressed to the cashier’s head. $213 was ripped from the register. A customer lost $1,800 and a cellphone. The crew fled in a black Infinity SUV—later tied to a prior armed robbery.

Just four days later, on September 23, Mingo struck again—this time at the ‘Like That 2’ barber shop in the 3300 block of Stanton Road SE, blocks from the first crime scene. Armed and masked, Mingo and accomplice Jarred Thomas, 20, of Washington, D.C., forced everyone to the floor at gunpoint. Cash and possessions were stolen from multiple victims, including a small child present during the heist. Once more, Mingo fled in the same black Infinity SUV.

Police caught Mingo three blocks from the barber shop. A firearm was recovered along his escape route. The SUV was confirmed stolen in an armed robbery eight days before the Pizza Bolis job. Mingo pleaded guilty in August 2016 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of interference with interstate commerce by robbery and one count of using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence—two counts tied to separate offenses.

Jarred Thomas had already pleaded guilty in May 2016 to the barber shop robbery, including the same firearm and robbery charges, plus unauthorized use of a vehicle. He was sentenced on July 13, 2016, to 121 months in prison. Mingo was sentenced by the Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer. Upon release, he’ll face 30 months of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate, and MPD Interim Chief Peter Newsham credited the Violent Crime Task Force, FBI Washington Field Office, and MPD detectives. Paralegal Specialist Candace Battle and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Macchiaroli, of the Violent Crimes and Narcotics Trafficking Section, prosecuted the case.