District Man Pleads Guilty to Use of Firearm in Drug Crime Amidst Investigation Into Stabbing

WASHINGTON - Darnell Lamont Savoy, 24, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, which was revealed during the investigation into an October 2022 stabbing that Savoy committed while he was on release and under indictment for the December 2018 near-murder shooting of a 14-year-old boy in Northeast Washington, D.C.

The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Savoy pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly to the use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Judge Kelly set a sentencing date for August 2, 2024. Savoy faces at least five years and a maximum of life in prison on the charge. A district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Over the federal government's written and oral objections, in 2021, Savoy was released from custody while awaiting trial in Superior Court on charges of assault with intent to kill while armed and related offenses stemming from the 2018 shooting.

According to court documents, months later, on October 11, 2022, Savoy allegedly stabbed a person during an argument and fled the scene. Investigators tracked Savoy to the 3900 block of Southern Avenue, SE. On the morning of October 21, 2022, MPD officers and FBI agents executed a search warrant at an apartment unit where Savoy was staying with a woman and a 3-year-old child. During the search, law enforcement found a plastic bag containing 4.55 grams of an off-white powder, a digital scale with white powder residue, a red cut straw with white powder residue, and a two-pack of naloxone. The powder and the residues tested positive for fentanyl.

In a blue jacket that contained Savoy's ID and credit card, investigators discovered 27 zip baggies with an off-white powder weighing a total of 7.3 grams, 29 blue pills stamped M30, 16 red zip baggies containing an off-white powder weighing nearly 5 grams, and $473 in U.S. currency. The powders tested positive for fentanyl.

In a hall closet, on top of a dryer, officers discovered a loaded, unregistered, semi-automatic Glock 30, loaded with 24 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition. DNA testing linked Savoy to the firearm. The fentanyl recovered during the search warrant was found in a common area of the apartment that the three-year-old had access to, which could have led to the death or serious injury of the child.

On March 29, 2024, Savoy and two co-defendants pleaded guilty in Superior Court to their roles the December 28, 2018, shooting of a father and son in the Clay Terrace neighborhood. Savoy was driving when his co-defendant fired 30 shots into an SUV in which the father and son were sitting. The boy was shot nine times, including in the head, abdomen, chest, and back. The father sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and hand. Superior Court Judge Michael O'Keefe scheduled sentencing for June 23, 2024.

The federal case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Long and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Stempel. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Hart and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Rasalam.

The shooting of the boy and his father was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, FBI and the United States Attorney's Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberley Nielsen and Sharon Donovan.