Thank you for reading D.C. Witness.
Consider making a donation to help us continue our mission.
By
Raina Bonifacio
- January 24, 2025
Carjacking
|
Daily Stories
|
DC Superior Court Judge Sean Staples sentenced a carjacking defendant to 84 months, with all but 60 suspended, on Jan. 23.
On Dec. 15, 2023, Marquis Funderburk, 22, pleaded guilty to unarmed carjacking for his involvement in an incident at the 2400 block of 9th Street, NW, on May 16, 2022.
During the hearing, the prosecution noted Funderburk’s GPS monitoring from a robbery case for which he was on release at the time of the incident, and his failure to identify the alleged co-conspirator as reasons to impose a consecutive sentence with his robbery conviction.
Albert Amissah, Funderburk’s attorney, introduced evidence of Funderburk’s growth and development through inmate programs. He requested Funderburk be sentenced under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA), which allows a defendant’s conviction to be sealed if they successfully complete all sentencing requirements, making his time served concurrent with his previous case. He further argued that Funderburk felt threatened not to implicate his alleged co-conspirator while incarcerated.
Funderburk said he wanted to be “sentenced as the man he was today and not the man he was at [his] arrest.” He wants to be a role model for his younger brother and he asked that the judge acknowledge his ability to “stay on the right path – I don’t want to be labeled as a criminal.”
Judge Staples granted the YRA, suspending all but 60 months of his 84 month sentence. However, he did not grant Funderburk’s request to serve his sentences concurrently. He cited refusing to implicate his alleged co-conspirator as the primary reason.
No further dates were set.