DC Superior Court Judge Errol Arthur sentenced a carjacking defendant to five-and-a-half years in prison on Feb. 2.
Winston Timoteo, 27, pleaded guilty on Nov. 18, 2025 to robbery while armed and carrying a pistol without a license outside a home or business for his involvement in a carjacking that occurred at the 1300 block of 4th Street, NE, on Dec. 26, 2023.
At sentencing, Timoteo’s attorney, Claudine Harrison, said that Timoteo was already incarcerated for over two years, was a hardworking immigrant, and had no criminal history. Harrison emphasized Timoteo’s immigration status and asked for a sentence of four months. After Timoteo’s sentence is finished, Harrison said “let [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] (ICE) deal with him.”
Harrison argued that the mandatory minimum sentence was more than fair considering the time Timoteo already served as well as the possibility of his deportation upon release. According to Harrison, Timoteo’s substance abuse was where “everything went wrong” in his life and noted he repeatedly expressed great remorse for his actions.
Timoteo apologized for his actions, requested placement in a drug rehabilitation facility, and an opportunity to further his education.
The prosecution emphasized the emotional toll inflicted by Timoteo on the victim, and argued that the victim will have to carry this trauma with him for his entire life. The prosecution also highlighted that Timoteo did not cooperate with police when they initially attempted to arrest him at the time of the crime. They said Timoteo instead ran away and was not arrested until five days later. For these reasons, the prosecution requested that Timoteo serve the maximum sentence.
Judge Arthur stated the victim will never be “whole again,” and asked Timoteo to imagine what was going through the victim’s head during the incident. The judge said it did not seem that the offense was indicative of Timoteo as a person, but that did not change his actions.
According to Judge Arthur, the victim, like Timoteo, was an immigrant in search of freedom in the United States. He asked Timoteo if his violent actions were his definition of freedom, to which Timoteo responded “no.”
Judge Arthur sentenced Timoteo to 66 months in prison for robbery and 18 months for carrying a pistol. These prison sentences will run concurrently, followed by five years of supervised release. Timoteo will be required to register as a gun offender in DC upon his release.
No further dates were set.
