Maryland Man Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison for His Part in Three Separate Kidnappings

           WASHINGTON- Jesse Nunn, 24, of Maryland, was sentenced yesterday to 120 months in prison for his part in three separate kidnappings over the course of three weeks in Northwest Washington.

           U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Timothy M. Dunham, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) made the announcement.

           Nunn pled guilty on May 10, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to three counts of kidnapping. The Honorable Trevor N. McFadden sentenced Nunn on September 19, 2019, to a 10-year prison term, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

           According to the government’s evidence, on July 15, 2018, Nunn and his co-defendant lured Complaining Witness (“CW”) #1 into his car in the 1300 block of U Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., with the promise of selling him narcotics. When CW #1 entered the car, Nunn produced a handgun and pointed it at CW #1, demanding the victim’s debit/credit card, cellphone, and U.S. Currency. During the course of the kidnapping, the defendants drove to various financial institutions and other store locations, crossing state lines, in an attempt to use CW #1’s debit/credit cards to obtain U.S. Currency. At one point, Nunn also punched CW #1, causing minor injuries. CW #1 was eventually able to escape from the vehicle and flag-down a passing driver.

           On July 27, 2018, in the 600 block of U Street, N.W., Nunn and two co-defendants lured CW #2 into their car with the promise of selling him narcotics. CW #2 willingly got into the defendants’ vehicle so that the defendants could take him to an ATM to get money for the purchase of the narcotics. The defendants drove CW #2 to a 7-Eleven ATM located in Bladensburg, MD, so that CW #2 could use the ATM machine to withdraw U.S. currency to purchase narcotics from the defendants. When CW #2 and one of the co-defendants returned to the vehicle, Nunn produced a handgun and pointed the weapon at CW #2. The defendants demanded CW #2’s debit/credit card, cellphone, and U.S. currency. The defendants forcibly took CW #2 to various locations, including locations outside of the District of Columbia, to use or attempt to use CW #2’s debit/credit cards for money or other personal property. CW #2 was eventually able to escape from the vehicle in Virginia.

           On August 4, 2018, at approximately 2:30 am, CW #3 left a nightclub located in the 1300 block of U Street, N.W. to catch an Uber home. Believing Nunn’s vehicle to be his Uber, CW #3 entered the vehicle, in which Nunn was seated in the rear seat. Within minutes of CW #3 getting into the vehicle for his ride home, Nunn demanded CW #3’s phone and wallet and then produced and pointed a handgun at CW #3.  Nunn and his co-defendant drove CW #3 around and demanded that CW #3 give them his PIN number for his debit/credit card.  CW #3 was eventually able to escape from the vehicle in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

           In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Special Agent in Charge Dunham, and Chief Newsham praised the work of the FBI Violent Crime Safe Streets Task Force, which is charged with investigating the most egregious acts of violent crime impacting the Capital Region Task Force, which involved members from the FBI and MPD. They also commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Teesha Tobias, former Paralegal Specialist Jeannette Litz, and Victim/Witness Specialist Yvonne Bryant. Finally, they commended the outstanding work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole, who indicted and prosecuted the case.