CyJuan Hemsley, an 18-year-old from District Heights, Maryland, has entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court for his involvement in the December 2023 burglary of 34 firearms from a pawn shop in Maryland. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Washington Field Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Hemsley pleaded guilty on May 7, 2025, to charges of conspiracy to commit theft from a firearms licensee and possession of stolen firearms. Other individuals involved in the conspiracy who have also pleaded guilty include Tyjuan McNeal, Vincent Alston, Niquan Odumn, and Juwon Anderson.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson has set Hemsley's sentencing for August 6, 2025.
Court documents reveal that on December 13, 2023, Hemsley and his co-conspirators traveled from Washington D.C. to A&D Pawn Shop in Glen Burnie, Maryland. At the shop, they used tools such as a portable saw and crowbar-type tool to break into the premises and steal rifles, shotguns, and pistols totaling at least 34 firearms.
The group later advertised these stolen firearms on social media platforms. Hemsley was apprehended on March 22, 2024, and remains detained. Authorities have so far recovered 17 of the stolen guns.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division alongside the Metropolitan Police Department with support from ATF Baltimore Field Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Lipes are prosecuting this case.