D.C. Gun Runner Jereal Booker Faces 15 Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jereal J. Booker, 24, of Washington, D.C., is facing a substantial prison sentence after pleading guilty today to a federal firearms offense. The conviction stems from a brazen attempt to evade police while carrying a loaded weapon in March 2023, according to U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith.

Booker admitted in U.S. District Court to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon – a serious charge considering his already checkered past. Judge Richard J. Leon has scheduled sentencing for October 1, 2024. This isn’t Booker’s first rodeo with the law; he was already on probation for two prior convictions when he allegedly committed this latest offense.

Court documents detail a scene unfolding on March 21, 2023, near a convenience store in the 4600 block of Livingston Road Southeast. An MPD officer observed Booker walking with what appeared to be a firearm tucked into his pants. A store employee corroborated the observation, even providing surveillance footage. When the officer attempted to initiate a stop, Booker bolted, ditching the weapon in nearby bushes during the ensuing foot chase. Alert construction workers pointed officers to the discarded firearm—a .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun loaded with one round in the chamber and ten in the magazine. DNA evidence later definitively linked the gun to Booker.

Booker’s criminal history makes him ineligible to legally possess a firearm. He’s already been convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm in D.C. Superior Court in 2023, and attempted carjacking in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 2021. He was serving probation for both of those convictions at the time of this latest incident, demonstrating a clear disregard for the law and a pattern of escalating criminal behavior.

If convicted to the maximum, Booker could face up to 15 years behind bars and a hefty $250,000 fine. However, the final sentence will be determined by Judge Leon, taking into account federal sentencing guidelines and other relevant factors. U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith praised the MPD officers involved in the investigation and arrest, as well as the forensic work conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul V. Courtney is prosecuting the case. The case number is 23cr103. Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on the sentencing as it develops, shedding light on the ongoing battle against gun violence in the nation’s capital.