Tommy T. Branch, Armed Robbery, Washington 2012

Armed Robbery Charges Land 22-Year-Old Maryland Man Behind Bars

WASHINGTON DC – In a shocking turn of events, Tommy T. Branch, 22, of Fort Washington, Md., was found guilty by a jury of charges stemming from a pair of attacks last summer, including one in which a man was severely beaten with a baseball bat.

The jury returned the guilty verdict after a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Branch was found guilty of charges of conspiracy, aggravated assault while armed, armed robbery, assault with intent to rob, and attempted credit card fraud.

The Honorable Robert I. Richter scheduled sentencing for July 2, 2013. Branch, who has been in custody since his arrest last year, faces a statutory maximum of 105 years in prison.

According to the government’s evidence, Branch and two accomplices – Sunny B. Kuti and Michael Moore – decided on Aug. 17, 2012 to commit a robbery together. They drove to the Adams Morgan area of Northwest Washington in Branch’s car.

Shortly after midnight, early in the morning of Aug. 18, 2012, they saw the victim walking home and attacked him. Branch hit the victim in the side of the head with a bat. He and his accomplices took the victim’s iPhone, credit card, and keys.

Following this attack, Branch, Kuti, and Moore drove to the Barry Farm area of Southeast Washington where they met a fourth man, Darrin L. Beal. They then set off for the Adams Morgan area to commit a second robbery. At about 3:20 a.m., while Beal remained in the car, Branch, Moore, and Kuti, while armed with a non-functioning BB gun that resembled a real handgun, targeted three victims in an alley off of the 1800 block of 18th Street NW, violently assaulting one victim and taking a cellphone, wallet, and set of keys from another.

U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. commended the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also praised the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including the First District Prosecution team.

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