Washington DC Man Pleads Guilty For The Armed Robbery Of A Capitol Heights Barbershop

Robbed Victims at Gunpoint and Struck a Victim in Head with Handgun

Greenbelt, Maryland – Ambrose Doye, age 24, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges of armed robbery and for brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

The guilty plea 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; and Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to Doye’s guilty plea, on November 26, 2018, Doye and his co-defendant, Akeem Bolton, drove to a barbershop in Capitol Heights, Maryland, and spoke with two employees outside of the shop, pretending to be potential customers.  The two left and went to a convenience store across the street, then returned to the barbershop.  Doye sat in the barbershop chair while an employee prepared to cut his hair.  Doye drew a handgun and pointed it at the employee, while Bolton struck a second employee in the back of the head with a handgun.

As detailed in the plea agreement, Doye and Bolton then forced the employees to the back of the store and pulled the blinds down over the windows of the barbershop.  Doye and Bolton forced the employees to strip naked and lie face down on the floor with their hands behind their heads, and ordered them to count to 1,000.  Doye and Bolton robbed the employees of their cellphones, money, and jewelry.  The robbers threatened to kill the employees if they moved while they counted to 1,000.  Doye and Bolton demanded to know where additional money was located in the store and threatened to kill the employees when they were unable to locate additional money.  Doye and Bolton again threatened to kill the employees if they reported the robbery then left the barbershop with the personal belongings of the employees.

A search of Doye’s residence recovered a distinctive silver necklace stolen from one of the barbershop employees and a silver and black .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol that was used in the armed robbery. When Bolton was arrested, a black 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which was used in the robbery, was recovered from his person.  

Doye and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Doye will be sentenced to between eight and 10 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for June 22, 2020 at 11:30 a.m.

Akeem Bolton, age 29, of Washington, D.C., previously pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced on March 6, 2020 to nine years in federal prison.

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.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Dick and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jared Hernandez, who are prosecuting the case.