D.C. Man Sentenced to Over 33 Years for Armed Robbery Spree in Prince George’s County

A Washington, D.C. man has been sentenced to more than three decades in federal prison for his role in a pair of violent armed robberies in Prince George’s County, Maryland, that left one victim paralyzed. The sentence, handed down in federal court in Greenbelt, concludes a years-long legal process that began after the crimes were committed in late 2016.

William David Hill, 68, also known by the aliases “Old Man” and “Tank,” was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby to 33 years and four months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Hill and co-defendant Ronnell Francis Lewis were convicted in 2019 after a seven-day trial in connection with two commercial robberies that occurred just days apart in November 2016. The charges included discharging a firearm during a violent crime.

On November 22, 2016, Hill, Lewis, and a third unidentified individual robbed an auto repair business in Clinton, Maryland. Armed and aggressive, the trio forced two employees to the ground, took cash directly from their pockets, and forcibly moved them into an office area. There, one victim was bound and gagged. The second victim resisted and was shot, resulting in permanent paralysis. The assailants fled the scene in a vehicle stolen earlier that day.

Four days later, the same pair robbed a barbershop in Seat Pleasant, Maryland. Brandishing weapons, they demanded customers and staff lie on the floor before robbing them of money and belongings. Cash from the robbery was placed into a single-strap duffle bag, and the suspects fled in another stolen vehicle, this time a minivan. Law enforcement spotted the vehicle shortly afterward and pursued it into Washington, D.C.

Officers managed to stop the van and apprehended Lewis along with the driver. Hill escaped during the chase but was located and arrested at a later date. The investigation and successful prosecution were part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through coordination among law enforcement agencies and community partners.

The FBI’s Baltimore Field Office led the investigation, with support from multiple local police departments, including those in Prince George’s County, Seat Pleasant, and Washington, D.C. Prosecutors Megan S. McKoy and Elizabeth Wright handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland

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