Melvin Anthony Turner, Second-Degree Burglary, D.C. 2024

Three break-ins. One trail of stolen cash and shattered glass. Melvin Anthony Turner, 49, of Washington, D.C., is now paying the price for a summer crime spree that terrorized small businesses across Northwest D.C. Today, Turner was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to three counts of second-degree burglary.

The crimes unfolded with chilling precision. On July 11, 2016, Turner smashed into Thai Pad, a restaurant in the 4400 block of Connecticut Avenue NW. He snatched $350 from the register and ransacked desk drawers, hunting for anything of value. Less than a week later, on July 16, he forced his way into Circle Yoga on Northampton Street NW and stole a laptop. His final strike came on July 21 at Sudhouse, the popular bar and restaurant on U Street NW, where he walked out with $4,000 in cash and another laptop.

Turner’s reign ended on July 24, 2016, when Metropolitan Police Department detectives arrested him. Forensic evidence and surveillance footage tied him to the scenes. But the damage went beyond the three counts. Police linked Turner to multiple other burglaries between April and July 2016—crimes the government was ready to prosecute if Turner had gone to trial.

He pleaded guilty in November 2016 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Sentencing was handed down by the Honorable Maribeth Raffinan, who imposed the seven-year term followed by three years of supervised release. The judge made it clear: repeated targeting of small businesses wouldn’t be tolerated.

U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced the sentence and praised the MPD investigators who cracked the case. Their relentless follow-up on evidence and timelines dismantled Turner’s pattern of crime. Phillips also spotlighted Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and Tiffany Jones from his office, whose behind-the-scenes work helped build the prosecution’s case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Crane and J. Matt Williams, who investigated and handled the sentencing, ensured Turner faced full accountability. For the owners of Thai Pad, Circle Yoga, and Sudhouse, the sentence brings a measure of justice—but no refund for the fear and loss inflicted by a man who treated their livelihoods like ATMs.