Antwon Pitt Gets 60 Years for D.C. Home Invasions, Rape

Antwon Pitt, 22, of Washington, D.C., is behind bars for 60 years after terrorizing two women in separate home invasions just days apart — one of which ended in a brutal sexual assault on a woman in her own bedroom. U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Peter Newsham, Interim Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), announced the sentence handed down by Judge Florence Pan, marking the end of a violent crime spree that left victims shattered and the community on edge.

Pitt was convicted by jury on June 8, 2016, on charges of first-degree sexual abuse, kidnapping, first-degree burglary, robbery, threats, and felony assault stemming from the second attack. On September 29, 2016, he pled guilty to second-degree burglary in connection with the first break-in. Both crimes occurred within a single week in October 2015, revealing a pattern of predatory behavior targeting vulnerable women in their own homes.

The first break-in happened at 6:15 a.m. on October 6, 2015, when Pitt entered an apartment on Michigan Avenue NE with the intent to steal. He crept into a bedroom where a young woman was sleeping, woke her by holding her cell phone, then fled with her wallet, ID, debit card, Metro card, tote bag, and personal belongings. No physical assault occurred, but the psychological invasion set the stage for what came next.

Just one week later, on October 13, 2015, at 2:10 p.m., Pitt forced his way into another Southeast D.C. apartment through an unlocked door. The woman inside was working on her computer when he appeared. He slammed her to the floor, choked her, and pressed his hand over her mouth and nose, dragging her down the hall to her bedroom where he raped her on her own bed. Afterward, he stole her phone, demanded the passcode, and fled. She suffered fractured facial bones requiring surgery and was hospitalized for her injuries.

MPD detectives caught a break when surveillance footage from an alley near the second victim’s building showed a man wearing bright orange shoelaces and carrying a backpack. They tracked the stolen phone to a gas station in Mitchellville, Maryland, where Pitt was detained. He had the victim’s phone, checks made out to her husband, gloves laced with both his and her DNA, and belongings from the first victim. At the time, Pitt was out on release in an unrelated drug case — now revoked.

Pitt will serve 60 years in federal prison, followed by supervised release and mandatory lifetime registration as a sex offender. U.S. Attorney Phillips called the sentence a victory for community safety: “Antwon Pitt terrorized two women in separate attacks over one week, invading their homes while one was sleeping and the other doing work. Today’s sentence will protect our community from this dangerous predator for decades.”