Isjalon Jermiah Armstead, a 22-year-old resident of the District of Columbia, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a shootout that occurred in June 2023 in Southeast Washington. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., along with officials from the FBI, ATF, and the Metropolitan Police Department.
Armstead, also known as "Smaut," was affiliated with the Push Dat Shit street crew. He pleaded guilty on January 30, 2025, to discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Amy B. Jackson imposed four years of supervised release.
Court documents reveal that on June 5, 2023, Armstead possessed half a pound of marijuana with the intent to sell it. Around 3:15 p.m., while seated in a Nissan Altima near Third and Atlantic Streets, SE, he engaged in a gun battle with another vehicle's driver. Armstead fired a .300 caliber AR-Pistol before the Altima crashed through a fence and stopped near an apartment building.
Despite suffering bullet wounds to his wrist and chest during the incident, Armstead fled on foot with the driver through a wooded area between Atlantic Street and Valley Avenue. They discarded the AR-Pistol in a trash receptacle before being apprehended by police at Fourth Street and Valley Avenue around 3:18 p.m. The weapon was later recovered and found to have Armstead's DNA.
The PDS gang operated within specific blocks of Wheeler Road, SE, maintaining an open-air drug market. In August 2018, they allied with Jugg Gang to protect their operations using firearms against rival groups.
This sentencing is part of an ongoing investigation leading to 26 convictions and significant seizures including vehicles, firearms, drugs, and cash.
The case was handled by multiple agencies including the FBI Washington Field Office's Cross Border Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James B. Nelson.