2 DC men sentenced for kidnapping victims, forcing them to withdraw money from ATMs
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - Two D.C. men have been sentenced for kidnapping men at gunpoint, driving them to multiple ATMs and forcing them to withdraw money from their bank accounts.
Taheed Ebron, 21, and Nathan Coleman, 29, both of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty in April 2022 to kidnapping two men at gunpoint over a five-day period in August 2021 and using blindfolds and zip ties to restrain their victims.
On Aug. 26, 2022, a judged sentenced Ebron to 10 years in prison. In June, a judge sentenced Coleman to 9.5 years in prison. Following completion of their prison terms, Ebron and Coleman each will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 24, 2021, at approximately 10:45 p.m., Ebron, Coleman and a third perpetrator kidnapped a man at gunpoint while he was walking home in the 1300 block of Corcoran Street NW.
The defendants pulled the man’s COVID face mask over his eyes as a blindfold and forced him into the rear of Ebron’s silver Nissan Rogue SUV. They demanded that he turn over his cellphone, credit and debit cards and personal identification numbers (PINs).
The defendants then drove the man to multiple ATM locations and used his financial cards to withdraw more than $1,400 from his accounts. They also used the man’s cards and cellphone to make a series of purchases and transactions, including a $1,200 PayPal transfer.
Ebron, Coleman and the third perpetrator eventually released the man from the SUV, forcing him to lay face down on the ground in an alley before driving away.
Just days later, on Aug. 28, 2021, at approximately 3:45 a.m., Ebron, Coleman and a third perpetrator kidnapped another man at gunpoint near the intersection of 13th and E Streets NE while he was riding an electric scooter on the way to work.
After seeing the man, Ebron parked his silver Nissan Rogue SUV in the intersection, and Ebron, Coleman and the third perpetrator exited the vehicle. The defendants ran toward the man and caught and threw him to the ground.
They then hooded him using a drawstring bag and restrained his hands with zip ties that Ebron and Coleman had purchased the previous day. The defendants forced the man into the SUV and demanded his wallet, cellphone and PINs.
They drove him to an ATM and withdrew more than $1,000 from his bank account. Ebron, Coleman and the third perpetrator eventually released the man from the vehicle, instructing him to run straight ahead and not look back or else be shot. The defendants then used his debit card to make a series of purchases and withdrawals.
A joint MPD and FBI investigation led to Coleman’s arrest on Sept. 6, 2021, and Ebron’s arrest the following day.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to two counts of armed kidnapping. Ebron also pleaded guilty to carrying a pistol without a license in a separate firearm case.
Ebron’s plea called for an agreed-upon sentence of 10 to 12 years in prison, and Coleman’s plea called for eight to 10 years in prison.