Surveillance image captured during the June 20, 2020, robbery of a CVS in Nottingham, Maryland.
D’Marrell Mitchell, 36, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 224 months in federal prison for his role in a violent multi-state robbery spree that targeted pharmacies and cell phone stores in the District, Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“D’Marrell Mitchell and his crew turned pharmacies and cellphone stores into hunting grounds, terrorizing workers and customers all to feed a criminal enterprise that treated other people’s safety as an acceptable cost of doing business,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “He didn’t just participate in these robberies. Mitchell planned them, recruited others to carry them out, and pocketed the proceeds. That is the definition of a dangerous predator, and today’s sentence reflects it.”
Mitchell, aka “Baby,” was found guilty on Oct. 28, 2025, following a six-week jury trial of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery), of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and of nine counts of Hobbs Act Robbery.
In addition to the 224-month prison term, Judge Amy B. Jackson ordered Mitchell to serve three years of supervised release. Federal prosecutors had requested a 327-month prison term.
According to court papers, between May 2020 and May 2021, Mitchell and his co-conspirators committed at least 19 robberies, targeting pharmacies for opioids and cellphone stores for devices that they then resold in the District. The conspiracy terrorized more than 40 victims and netted over $300,000 in stolen narcotics and cellphones.
Mitchell was not only one of the conspiracy’s principal organizers, but he also personally entered stores and assaulted employees during multiple robberies, including at a CVS in Neptune, N.J., a T-Mobile in College Park, Md., a pharmacy in Glen Echo, Md., and a CVS in Pasadena, Md.
During the Glen Echo robbery on Nov. 12, 2020, Mitchell went behind the pharmacy counter, ordered an employee to his knees, struck him on the head, and grabbed another employee by the neck before filling a duffel bag with narcotics.
During the final robbery at a CVS in Pasadena, Mitchell forced an employee to open the pharmacy’s narcotics safe and ultimately bound their hands with zip ties. Police arrived as the conspirators fled, and Mitchell was apprehended on the rooftop of a nearby restaurant.
Mitchell used a juvenile co-conspirator in multiple robberies and ostensibly exercised control over at least one other conspirator through cellphone communications. Photos recovered from Mitchell’s cellphone showed firearms consistent with those used in several of the robberies.
Mitchell has an extensive prior criminal history, including convictions for assault with significant bodily injury and multiple theft offenses across D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.
Sentencing for co-defendant and co-leader of the conspiracy, Ashley Gause, is scheduled for August 20, 2026. Gause, 33, was found guilty of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act Robbery), conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances from the pharmacy robberies, and eight counts of Hobbs Act Robbery.
Joining in the announcement of today’s sentencing were FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, and Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office with valuable assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department, Alexandria Police Department, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Baltimore County Police Department, Henrico County Police Division, Laurel Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Neptune Township, N.J., Police Department, and Prince George’s County Police Department.
The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Levy with valuable assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josh Gold, Cameron Tepfer, and Sarah Martin.
Surveillance image captured Nov. 6, 2020, during the robbery of a T-Mobile store on D Street, Southeast Washington D.C.
Surveillance image captured during the May 9, 2020, robbery of a CVS in Neptune, New Jersey.
Surveillance captured on June 9, 2020, during the robbery of a T-Mobile in College Park, Maryland.
Surveillance image captured during the June 20, 2020, robbery of a CVS in Nottingham, Maryland.
