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Rashaun Onley, 23, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, on federal charges of committing an armed commercial robbery, carjacking, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The violence began in the early morning of Feb. 5, 2021.
Onley and a co-conspirator entered a convenience store in Silver Spring, chose items from the shelves, and approached the counter, prosecutors said. Only then grabbed an employee by the shirt, struck him in the head, and forced his victim to his knees.
As part of his plea, Onley admitted that he then brandished a black semiautomatic handgun and ordered the employee to open the cash register, at which point he took cash and fled.
Later that day, shortly before 5 p.m., in Alexandria, three men carjacked a Volkswagen Tiguan with Pennsylvania registration plates at gunpoint after their victim had just parked his vehicle and later met up with Onley.
The plea agreement notes that a little more than an hour later, Olney and two others carjacked another victim who was driving a Lexus in Silver Spring, during which Onley approached his victim with a gun and stated "I’m gonna blow you up, give me your money and keys.”
He then got into the front passenger seat of the stolen Volkswagen and drove away, prosecutors said.
Minutes after the Lexus carjacking, Onley approached a woman in a Mercedes ML350, ordering her to get out before stealing the SUV.
Onley was ultimately busted late on Feb. 26, 2021, when he and a co-conspirator were “live streaming" and posting on social media about being at a hotel party in Arlington, where semi-automatic handguns were clearly visible, leading police investigators straight to him.
When he was arrested by members of the Montgomery County Police Department, investigators noted that a second suspect threw a bag from the hotel room window which included two loaded weapons, and 21 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition.
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