United States of America v. Lloyd Patterson Ross

Washington, DC: Criminal law lawyer represented Defendant charged with r fatally shooting a man last year at a gas station in Southeast Washington.



Lloyd Patterson-Ross, age 21, from Washington, DC, pleaded guilty in June 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to voluntary manslaughter while armed. The plea agreement, which was contingent upon the Court's approval, called for an agreed-upon term of 7 ½-to-9 years in prison. The Honorable Marisa Demeo accepted the plea and sentenced Patterson-Ross accordingly on Oct. 21, 2022. Following his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release.



According to the government's evidence, on Nov. 22, 2021, at approximately 10:15 p.m., Patterson-Ross was at a gas station in the 4600 block of South Capitol Street SE along with the victim, Dawaan Saunders. Mr. Saunders, who was armed, along with another individual attempted to rob Patterson-Ross and his associates. The robbery attempt failed, and Mr. Saunders attempted to flee. He ran across the street to another gas station but dropped his firearm as he was running. He then attempted to enter a vehicle but was unsuccessful.



Patterson-Ross subsequently picked up the firearm on the ground and chased Mr. Saunders. He then shot Mr. Saunders, causing him to fall. Patterson-Ross then fled. But after seeing Mr. Saunders attempt to get back up, he came back and shot him multiple times at close range. Mr. Saunders, 30, was shot 14 times and subsequently died.



Patterson-Ross was arrested on Dec. 20, 2021. He has been in custody ever since.



In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch of the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney's Office, including Paralegal Specialist Lashone Samuels and Victim/ Witness Specialist Karina Hernandez.



Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shehzad Akhtar who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Defendant was sentenced to nine years in prison.