DOJ: Robbery defendants launched campaign to intimidate witnesses

WASHINGTON — U.S. Marshals will screen everyone who enters a federal courtroom next week as the government prepares to put three men on trial for triple armored car robberies – the latest in a series of extraordinary measures prosecutors have taken to combat what they have described as a “witness intimidation campaign” in the case.

The three defendants – William Brock, Anthony Antwon McNair Jr. and Erin Sheffey – have been held without bail in the D.C. Jail since their arrests last year. Yet they have attempted to bribe government witnesses and, when that failed, threaten them with violence to persuade them not to testify, according to prosecutors' testimony in court this week and in filings over the past two months.

In late July, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered all three men to be held in solitary confinement in the DC Jail and barred from making any calls or visits except to meet with their lawyers. Lamberth's order followed an emergency motion filed by prosecutors warning that the men and their accomplices outside the prison had allegedly threatened not only key government witnesses but also their families.

“While the government takes steps to ensure the safety of its witnesses, the defendants and their accomplices have demonstrated an astonishing willingness and ability to tamper with witnesses beyond prison walls,” prosecutors wrote in their filing.

Prosecutors said the threats were directed at two witnesses, both of whom are alleged associates of the defendants. A witness, also incarcerated in the DC Jail, has reportedly been the target of threats and bribery attempts by the defendants for nearly a year. Prosecutors said while the witness was being held in custody 23 hours a day for his own protection, Brock, who was in the same unit but not quarantined, repeatedly approached his cell and threatened to kill him. The defendants also allegedly told other inmates in the jail that the witness was “hot” or a cooperator.

“Not surprisingly, Witness 1 reported that he was frequently the target of violence,” prosecutors wrote.

While serving his sentence earlier this year, another defendant, McNair, allegedly approached the witness's cell at least eight times and offered him up to $30,000 if he didn't testify in court. When that didn't work, prosecutors say McNair threatened the witness' family and claimed he had accomplices watching them.

According to court records, a second witness, who is not in custody, had to be brought out of Washington for his safety after two men threatened him with a gun in his home. Prosecutors said the threats came shortly after the witness first identified the defendant as a likely witness in the trial.

In response to prosecutors' concerns about the witnesses, Lamberth sealed significant portions of the case file and, at the government's request, subsequently sealed transcripts from two hearings this week. On Monday, he also issued an order prohibiting anyone other than attorneys involved in the case from bringing cellphones or other recording devices into the courtroom. Anyone who wishes to observe the proceedings will be screened by U.S. Marshals and their electronic devices will be confiscated until they leave the courtroom.

The ban on mobile phones had been requested by the public prosecutor's office, which expressed its fear that threats against witnesses would intensify once they appeared to give evidence.

“In particular, the government is concerned that family members, friends, and other acquaintances of the defendants who are watching the trial may photograph or videotape the government's witnesses with the intent to harass, threaten, or harm those individuals,” prosecutors wrote in a document filed August 5.

Lamberth's order is unusual — observers in D.C. District Court are typically told to turn off their phones, but not prevented from having them with them — but there is precedent. Earlier this month, another judge in the district discovered that observers in the public gallery at a hearing were recording the proceedings. That courtroom now has large signs in bright red lettering indicating that electronic devices are not allowed inside.

Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to begin Monday morning. Prosecutors said during a hearing this week that they expected their case to last up to two weeks and involve up to 40 witnesses. Attorneys for all three defendants said they did not expect to call witnesses.