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Frederick Powell, 29, was found guilty by a jury for the unlawful possession of a weapon with a prior conviction and other offenses after attempting to hide his pistol inside the building following a Friday-night vehicular flight from police through the H-Street corridor in September last year.
According to court documents, at around 9:40 p.m. on Sept. 15, 2023, Powell was driving an unregistered vehicle in the 800 block of K Street, and when officers from the Metropolitan Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop, he sped away.
During the subsequent chase, police say that Powell ran red lights, stop signs, and kept speeding "even though traffic was heavy, and many pedestrians, enjoying the District's nightlife, were around," prosecutors said.
An officer later spotted Powell's vehicle outside the entrance of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission building.
When he was approached, court documents state that Powell retreated into the building, and when he was out of the view of officers took a .45 caliber pistol from his waistband and "discreetly placed it on the floor."
The gun was loaded at the time with one round in the chamber and nine in the magazine. The serial number on the weapon was also obliterated, making it more difficult to trace; however, the entire ordeal was captured on camera inside the building.
Prosecutors made note that Powell had previously been convicted of two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy in 2017 and was on supervision for a 2021 conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Powell was also found guilty of carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, as well as felony fleeing from law enforcement and reckless driving.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in July, when he will face 20 years in prison.
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