Donald Williams, Gallaudet University Kitchen Robbery, Washington 2016

Gallaudet University Kitchen Robbed at Gunpoint: Donald Williams Pleads Guilty

WASHINGTON – In a brazen daylight robbery, Donald Williams, 26, of Washington, D.C., forced his way into the kitchen of Gallaudet University, where he used to work, and demanded money from employees at gunpoint.

The crime occurred on October 22, 2016, in the 800 block of Florida Avenue NE. Williams, who had been fired from the university just weeks prior, pointed a gun at two female employees and ordered them to open a safe containing daily deposits. When one of the victims refused, he struck her on the head with the gun, causing a laceration.

Williams then approached a third female employee, who was unaware of the robbery, and directed her to open the safe. Once she complied, he fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.

During their investigation, police located surveillance video footage depicting a vehicle similar to Williams’ enter a parking garage on campus around the time of the crime. The video also showed a male, wearing clothing identical to Williams’, exit the vehicle and walk toward the building where the robbery occurred.

Police also recovered video from Williams’ cell phone showing him dumping a large amount of cash into a bathroom sink, bundled with red bands. Williams recorded the cell phone video approximately three and a half hours after the crime. A black mask, consistent with the one worn by the assailant, was found at the scene and swabbed for DNA, which later revealed the presence of Williams’ DNA.

Williams was arrested on December 20, 2016, and is set to be sentenced on March 23, 2017, by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson. The charge of first-degree burglary while armed carries a statutory minimum of five years in prison, with a potential range of 102 to 192 months in prison.

U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, the Forensic Biology Unit of the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, and Sorensen Forensics for their efforts in investigating the case.

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