A federal jury has found four men guilty of kidnapping and murder charges in connection with the 2018 slaying of a Maryland man.
The victim, Andre Simmons, Jr., 28, from Bowie, Maryland, was abducted at gunpoint in Maryland, bound with zip ties, and forced into a vehicle by Darin Moore, Jr., 29, of Bowie, Md., Gabriel Brown, 33, and John Sweeney, 29, both of Washington, D.C.
On June 19, 2018, the victim was abducted at gunpoint in Maryland, bound with zip ties, and forced into a vehicle by Moore and Sweeney. During the following few hours, several ransom calls were made from Taylor’s phone to Mr. Simmons’ family, who delivered $7,000 in cash to a drop location as instructed by the kidnappers. The money was subsequently picked up by Brown.
Just over an hour after the ransom payment, at about 6:25 a.m. on June 20, 2018, the defendants shot Mr. Simmons 19 times and left his zip-tied body in an alley off the 600 block of Atlantic Street SE. The four men then met up in Capitol Heights, Maryland, to divide up the proceeds of the ransom demand.
The four defendants, Darin Moore, Jr., Gabriel Brown, John Sweeney, and James Thomas Taylor, 33, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, first-degree murder while armed, and felony murder. A mistrial was declared on the remaining two counts in the indictment against Taylor.
The four men are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6, 2023. Moore was arrested on June 20, 2018, Brown was arrested on June 27, 2018, Taylor was arrested on Aug. 17, 2018, and Sweeney was arrested on Jan. 14, 2019. All have been in custody since their arrests.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD’s Homicide Division. Valuable assistance was provided by Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department, and the U.S. Marshal Service.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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