GUILTY PLEA IN ATTEMPTED ROBBERY

TWO MEN PLEAD GUILTY IN ATTEMPTED ROBBERY
OF PIZZA SHOP
Crime Was Captured on Video
Nathaniel Byrd, 19, and Ronald Williams, 18, both of Washington, D.C., have pled
guilty in connection with the recent attempted armed robbery of a pizza shop.
Byrd and Williams pled guilty on December 16, 2010 in the Superior Court of the
District of Columbia to one count each of assault with intent to rob while armed.
The defendants face a maximum term of 30 years in prison. However, under the
District of Columbia=s Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, they will likely receive a
sentence of between three years and seven years. They are to be sentenced before
the Honorable Judge Ronna L. Beck on February 28, 2011.

At the plea hearing, Byrd and Williams acknowledged that on November 23, 2010,
at approximately 5:30 p.m., they entered the Papa Johns store in the 900 block of
11th Street SE, Washington, DC. A video captured the incident.
FACTS: According to the governments evidence, both men pointed guns at the
employee behind the cash register. Williams told the employee to Agive it up.  The
employee responded that he was only a driver. Williams then ordered the employee to
open the register. The employee responded that he could not do so and turned his pant
pockets inside out to show that he did not have any money. Byrd and Williams then left
the store without any money.
Two other employees left the store and notified police officers who were on routine
patrol. A police officer noticed Byrd and Williams at 11th and I Streets SE. As the
officer approached, they both fled. Byrd was eventually stopped in the 700 block of 12th
Street SE. Officers recovered a loaded .40 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun from his
right waistband. An employee identified Byrd as one of the persons who entered the
store with a handgun. Byrd=s clothing matched the clothing of one of the people seen on
the store video pointing a gun.
As an officer chased Williams, he noticed a gun in the 700 block of 11th Street SE; the
weapon turned out to be a loaded 9 mm Glock. The officer stayed by the handgun. A K-9
unit, meanwhile, located Williams hiding in the rear of a building in the 700 block of 12th
Street SE. A black hoodie was found in a dumpster near Williams, and a black mask also
was found nearby. Williams clothing, along with the hoodie and mask, matched the
clothing of the other person in the video pointing a handgun.
In addition, a Papa John=s employee identified Williams= clothing as the clothing worn by
the other person pointing a gun.