David Wilson, 34, of Washington, DC ., a leader of a violent drug gang, was sentenced today to 45 years and eight months in prison for his role in two murders and other crimes committed by the Congress Park Crew

David Wilson, 34, of Washington, DC ., a leader of a violent drug gang, was sentenced today to 45 years and eight months in prison for his role in two murders and other crimes committed by the Congress Park Crew, announced United States Attorney Ronald C Machen Jr; James W McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Cathy L Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Wilson, also known as Cool Wop, was sentenced this afternoon by the Honorable Judge Richard W Roberts in United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Wilson was one of six defendants prosecuted by the government during an eight-month trial in 2007 before Judge Roberts. During that trial, the government presented evidence that Wilson, along with his five co-defendants, Antwuan Ball, aka Big Ant; Gregory Bell, aka Boy-Boy; Joseph Jones, aka Jo-Jo; Dominic Samuels, aka Don; and Desmond Thurston, aka Daz, as well as others, were members of a crew that had engaged in a series of crimes, including crack cocaine dealing, armed robbery, attempted murder, and murder in the Congress Park neighborhood of Southeast Washington for more than a decade.

Since March of 2005, 18 individuals have been indicted in connection with this case. Wilson and his five-co-defendants were the final defendants remaining from the original March 2005 indictment. The others previously pled guilty or had been found guilty after trial. The jury in this trial acquitted the six defendants of the charged conspiracy in this case, but convicted them on 18 other felony charges stemming from violence and drug-dealing.

Wilson was convicted of a total of 11 charges, including two counts of first degree murder while armed and various charges related to the distribution of cocaine. The murder charges stemmed from the August 17, 1998 slayings of Ronnie “Squid” Middleton and Sabrina Bradley. Evidence showed that the killings were committed by Wilson as part of an ongoing turf war between the Congress Park Crew and one of its rivals, the 1-5 Mob. According to the government’s evidence, Middleton, 27, was the intended target in the attack, which took place in the early morning hours in the 1500 block of Congress Place SE.

Posted in: Congress Park Crew