WASHINGTON, D.C. – Julian Wesley Gentry, 33, pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge related to his possession of a loaded gun on May 1, 2022. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department announced the plea. Sentencing is set for January 12, 2024, by Judge Timothy J. Kelly.
According to evidence presented by the government, a security guard at a bar on the 600 block of H Street Northwest, in Washington D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood, called 911 after 1:00 a.m. to report a man displaying a firearm.
The caller identified the man as wearing a white dress shirt and sitting on the steps of a closed restaurant across the street. Metropolitan Police officers located Gentry based on the description and approached him.
Gentry ran into the middle of the street but was apprehended seconds later. A protective pat-down revealed a loaded semi-automatic firearm in Gentry’s waistband, corroborating the 911 report. An additional round of ammunition was found in Gentry’s pants pocket during a subsequent search.
Gentry has been in custody since his arrest on May 1, 2022. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for over one year. Federal law prohibits Gentry from possessing a firearm due to previous convictions, including a 2019 conviction for reckless endangerment in Montgomery County, Maryland, for which he was on probation at the time of this offense.