GREENBELT, Md. (Feb. 4, 2009)—U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Akil Asim Dorsey, age 33, of Brandywine, on Monday to 25 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Messitte enhanced Dorsey’s sentence upon finding that he is an armed career criminal based on four previous convictions for unlawful wounding, robbery, distribution of cocaine and robbery with a dangerous weapon. Dorsey had a total of 11 prior convictions.
According to his guilty plea, in December 2005 Dorsey pled guilty in Prince George’s County Circuit Court to robbery with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, with all but 10 years suspended. In January 2007, Dorsey pled guilty in Alexandria Circuit Court for possession of cocaine and was sentenced to two years in jail, with all but time served suspended.
In April 2007, Dorsey approached his estranged girlfriend in the Spring Hill Lake apartment complex in Greenbelt, Maryland, held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her if she did not accompany him to another apartment. At the second apartment, an individual helped the ex-girlfriend escape and she reported the assault to police.
A few days later on April 25, a Greenbelt Police Department officer saw Dorsey driving a mini-bike in the apartment complex and, recognizing Dorsey as being involved in the assault, approached Dorsey, who fled. During the pursuit, Dorsey threw out a gun, which was recovered and found to be a loaded .22 caliber short revolver.
Three officers cornered and arrested Dorsey who attempted to fight the officers. The officers recovered two baggies containing a total of .9 grams of marijuana and a third containing 1.3 grams of ecstasy from Dorsey.
Dorsey was scheduled to be sentenced on May 12, 2008, but failed to appear at sentencing. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was ultimately arrested on January 9, 2009 at an apartment in Annapolis, Maryland. Dorsey was found hiding in a bedroom closet, where 88 rounds of ammunition were also recovered.
Source: United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein