MJP –
Washington, DC – The Kennedy Street Crew (KDY) was a violent gang based in Northwest Washington, D.C. Members Khali Ahmed Brown, 23, and Keion Michael Brown, 21, pled guilty today to drug and gun charges. The KDY ran open-air markets.
Khalil Brown, better known by his stage name “Migo Lee,” is a Washington D.C. native who many consider to be KDY’s public face. He recently entered a guilty plea to conspiring to distribute 100 kg or more of marijuana, fentanyl, and oxycodone.
For his part in the shooting outside of Jackson-Reed High School on November 18, 2022, he also entered guilty pleas to assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm in support of a drug trafficking allegation.
His brother, Keion Michael Brown, a resident of the nation’s capital, admitted to conspiring to distribute 100 kilos or more of oxycodone and marijuana, as well as for carrying a pistol while engaged in drug trafficking. For both men, the sentencing date set by U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell is December 12, 2024.
The decision to impose the sentences was made by a number of law enforcement officials, including U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, David Geist, Jarod Forget, James Van Vliet, and Kareem Carter.
The prosecution focused on leaders and important members of the KDY street crew, which is one of the oldest, biggest, and most aggressive street crews in our community, according to U.S. Attorney Graves. Each and every offender implicated in this inquiry has now entered guilty pleas, guaranteeing their removal from our community and their cessation of violent behavior.
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The present fentanyl crisis and drug-related violence are destroying our community and family structures, according to Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division. “DEA’s top operational priority is combatting this,” he said. Mr. Brown, alias “Migo Lee,” and his ties to dangerous criminal drug trafficking organizations like the Kennedy Street Crew did not care about the community’s welfare, as is evident from his guilty plea today.
A firm stand has been taken, and stringent procedures have been put in place, to safeguard every area in the city.
Official records indicate that members of the KDY ran outdoor drug markets along an 11-block section of Kennedy Street in the Northwest neighborhood of Washington, D.C., including the streets next to it. In order to protect its region from competing crews and to ease the drug trade, KDY, like many other drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), obtained weapons.
Five homicides—each killing seven people and wounding six more—one attack with intent to kill—which wounded three more—and nineteen assaults with a dangerous weapon occurred on KDY territory between June 2019 and June 2023, during the time of the alleged conspiracy.
Some of the accused, such as Khali Brown, were important in the operation’s financial success by transporting large amounts of marijuana from the West Coast to the Washington, DC, area for smuggling.
The defendants stored KDY’s restricted substances and firepower in their own stash homes. Example: on January 26, 2023, police at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) executed an interdiction because they believed that multiple members of the KDY, including Khali Brown, were planning to smuggle marijuana back to the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area via BWI on an overnight flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Even though authorities confiscated 39.2 kg of marijuana from five bags during the interdiction, Khali Brown and his accomplice Herman Signou managed to get away with some of their belongings and went to a stash house on the 1700 block of D Street NE.
A few hours later, the house was searched by police who discovered Khali Brown, Keion Brown, Tristan Ware, Jovan Williams, Herman Signou, and other KDY associates. Cops found 10 guns—two machine guns included—along with various rounds of ammo, 21 kg of marijuana, 39.5 grammes of tablets laced with fentanyl, and oxycodone pills in bags that matched those seized at BWI airport.
An item that was found among the firearms was the Glock 17 9mm that Khali Brown and his accomplices had utilized in the shooting incident outside Jackson-Reed High School on November 18, 2022.
In another stash house in the 1300 block of 5th Street NW, where Khali Brown and two co-defendants were apprehended on June 26, 2023, there were about 3.5 kg of marijuana, $2,710 in cash, five machine guns, and one pistol inside the residence.
On November 17, 2023, police led wanted fugitive Keion Brown and his accomplices, who included Jovan Williams, to a laundry room located on the 4700 block of Benning Road NE. Keion Brown’s machine pistol was among four weapons discovered in the laundry area, which led to the arrest of Williams, Jovan, and an associate.
According to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, this investigation was carried out. OCDETF employs a multi-agency strategy that utilizes the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify and disrupt criminal networks, including those involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. This approach is led by prosecutors and is intelligence-driven. The goal is to dismantle these organizations and the individuals linked to them.
It was investigated by the following agencies: the Metropolitan Police Department, the DEA’s Washington Division, the ATF’s Washington Field Division, with help from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Washington, D.C. Office.
Prosecutors in the case are Assistant US Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey and Sitara Witanachchi from the DC Office of the US Attorney for the Violent Crimes and Trafficking Section. Prior to his retirement, Brian Lynch served as an invaluable assistant to the United States Attorney.
