Defendant Pistol-Whipped Carjacking Victim in Montgomery County; Also Committed Three Robberies at Gunpoint in Calvert County, Prince George’s County, and Washington, D.C.
News Release, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland
UPDATE 5/19/2020: Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm today sentenced Dante Tyler-El, age 54, of Landover, Maryland, to 150 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for carjacking and for using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Tyler-El entered his guilty plea on February 25, 2020.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans; and Chief Peter Newsham of the Metropolitan Police Department.
“Armed criminals, like Dante Tyler-El, jeopardize lives and they must be held accountable,” said United States Attorney Robert K. Hur. “Police and prosecutors are working to identify armed criminals who deserve to be charged in federal court. As a result of his conviction, Dante Tyler-El will now serve more than 12 years in federal prison, where there is no parole—ever. Please put down the gun and save a life, maybe even your own.”
According to his guilty plea, on June 5, 2019, Tyler-El perpetrated three armed robberies, as well as the carjacking. As detailed in his plea agreement, at 5:30 a.m. Tyler-El assaulted a victim who was pumping gas at a gas station in Prince Frederick, Maryland, putting a gun in the victim’s face, stealing the victim’s wallets and credit cards, and then placing the victim in handcuffs.
Tyler-El admitted that at 5:00 p.m., he approached a victim who was sitting in her vehicle in a parking lot in Gaithersburg, Maryland, waiting for her daughter to finish a dance class. Tyler-El, dressed in a neon construction vest and hard hat, approached the victim holding a Walther PK380 pistol, which he put to the victim’s head and demanded money. Tyler-El then handcuffed the victim and forced her into the back seat of the vehicle, where he restrained her while he rummaged through the vehicle. When the victim screamed, Tyler-El struck her with the pistol, causing severe bruising on the victim’s face. After finding the victim’s credit cards, Tyler-El got into the driver’s seat and drove away with the victim still in the back seat. After driving for some distance, Tyler-El got out of the vehicle and fled.
According to his plea agreement, at 7:00 p.m. Tyler-El, brandishing the pistol and wearing the same neon construction vest and hard hat, robbed a victim outside his apartment building in Hyattsville, Maryland, stealing $150 in cash. Approximately one hour later, Tyler-El robbed three pedestrians at gunpoint as they walked along Eastern Avenue in Washington, D.C., just across the Maryland border. Tyler-El admitted that during the robbery he fired the pistol into the air as a show of force to compel the victims’ compliance. Tyler-El stole credit cards and $6 in cash from the victims.
Tyler-El was stopped by law enforcement early the next morning after crossing the Bay Bridge into Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. A search of the vehicle recovered some of the victims’ credit cards, as well as the loaded Walther PK 380 used during the robberies and carjacking.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, and the Metropolitan Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Burden H. Walker, who prosecuted the case.
Calvert County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook
Update 6/11/2019- Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have charged Dante Tyler-El, age 53, of the 500 block of Little Hut Drive in Centerville, Maryland, with an armed carjacking that occurred on June 5th in Gaithersburg.
On Wednesday, June 5th at approximately 5:29 p.m., 6th District officers and Gaithersburg Police Department officers responded to the 18700 block of North Frederick Avenue for the report of an armed carjacking that had just occurred.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the 46-year-old female victim was in her parked car in the 18700 block of North Frederick Avenue when the suspect approached her. The suspect, who was wearing a yellow construction vest, hard hat, and armed with a handgun threatened the victim and demanded money. The suspect handcuffed the victim, moved her to the back seat of her vehicle, and began looking for property inside the car. At one point, the victim screamed, and the suspect struck her with the handgun. The suspect then moved to the driver’s seat of the victim’s car and drove approximately one hundred yards with the victim still handcuffed in the back seat. The suspect stopped the car, exited the vehicle and fled the area on foot. The victim freed one of her hands from the handcuffs and immediately contacted police.
Personnel from the Forensic Service Section (FSS) processed the crime scene for physical evidence, including latent fingerprints and DNA. Prints believed to belong to the suspect were obtained from the victim’s vehicle and sent to a regional fingerprint database (RAFIS). On June 7th, detectives received a fingerprint match to Dante Tyler-El and obtained an arrest warrant for him charging him with armed robbery, armed carjacking, kidnapping, the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and first-degree assault.
During the investigation, MCP detectives determined that early in the morning on June 6th, Tyler-El had been arrested by officers from the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Police Department while driving a stolen vehicle in the area of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. During that arrest, MDTA officers located a handgun, a fluorescent construction vest, and construction hard hats inside the stolen vehicle.
Tyler-El is currently incarcerated in the Queen Anne’s County Detention Center located in Centerville, Maryland related to the June 6th stolen vehicle and handgun charges.
Prince Frederick, MD- On June 05, 2019 at 5:20 AM, deputies of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Safeway gas pumps on West Dares Beach Road for the report of an armed robbery.
The adult victim was in the process of pumping his gas when he was approached by a man with a handgun. The victim was assaulted, and the suspect attempted to place the victim in handcuffs. The handcuffing of the man was thwarted by a brave Calvert County citizen who confronted the man and threatened to call the police. The victim was robbed of his wallet and the suspect fled in a vehicle.
Detectives of the Calvert County Criminal Investigations Bureau assumed the investigation and quickly identified the vehicle involved. The detectives initiated a multi-jurisdictional search that led to the arrest of the suspect by Maryland Transportation Authority Police as he attempted to cross the Bay Bridge around 1:20 AM the following morning.
Calvert County Detectives learned of numerous similar armed robberies occurring throughout the DMV area on June 05, 2019 and contributed their efforts to help identify the suspect in all cases for the surrounding jurisdictions.
The suspect has been identified as Dante D’Anjael Tyler of Hyattsville, Maryland. He is in custody and faces numerous charges to include Armed Robbery, Assault in the First Degree, and various felony handgun possession charges.
Anyone who has any further information about these cases is encouraged to call Detective Yates at 410 535 2800 ext. 2151.
UPDATE 6/6/2019 – Calvert County Sheriff’s Deputies have apprehended the suspect in the Safeway robbery that occurred on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 in Prince Frederick, MD. The suspect remains in police custody. Further arrest details will follow as they become available.
On Wednesday, June 5, 2019 shortly after 5 a.m., Calvert County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to report of a robbery at the Safeway gas station in Prince Frederick, MD.
This incident remains under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Yates at the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office at (410) 535-2800 ext. 2151.