Dremale Vanterpool, 27, and Torrance Brock, 23, both from the District of Columbia, face federal charges related to firearms and drug trafficking. These charges stem from a high-speed vehicle pursuit and subsequent foot chase in 2023 that led to the recovery of loaded firearms, cocaine, fentanyl, and other evidence indicative of drug distribution.
Vanterpool has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Brock is facing one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Court documents reveal that on June 7, 2023, officers from the U.S. Capitol Police attempted to stop a gray Nissan Rogue suspected to be connected with armed robberies in Delaware and Maryland. The attempt to initiate a traffic stop resulted in the vehicle fleeing through Northeast and Southeast Washington D.C.
The pursuit concluded when the vehicle was immobilized by traffic on Ely Place SE's 3400 block. Both Vanterpool and Brock fled on foot at this point. Officers noted both men appeared to be clutching their waistbands as if concealing weapons.
Vanterpool was captured near a building after discarding what was later identified as a baseball-sized bag over a fence. Shortly after this incident, Brock was also detained. The authorities recovered two loaded firearms—a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm and Taurus G3C 9mm—and found more than 39 grams of cocaine inside the discarded bag.
Additional items found with Vanterpool included a digital scale, two cell phones, around $605 in cash, along with another bag containing powder identified as cocaine mixed with fentanyl. Due to prior felony convictions in North Carolina, both men are federally prohibited from possessing firearms.
The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Washington Field Division alongside support from U.S. Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
"An indictment is merely an allegation," states official documentation regarding such legal proceedings. "All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court."