D.C. Kidnapping Carjacker Sentenced To 15 Years In Federal Prison

Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 10:00 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

WASHINGTON, DC.- On Monday, April 21, 2025, David Zanders, 23, of Washington, D.C., appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth to 180 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea.

     Zanders previously appeared on November 1, 2024, in Federal Court in Washington, D.C., and pleaded guilty before Judge Lamberth to one count of Kidnapping; and one count of Carjacking.

According To U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr.

     According to U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and charging documents filed with the District Court, during the early morning hours of May 1, 2022, Zanders and a friend kidnapped two men outside of a nightclub located on the 600 Block of Florida Avenue in the Northwest section of Washington, D.C. 

     Zanders and the friend pretended to be working for Uber and the two men got into Zanders’ vehicle. Within minutes, Zanders pulled the vehicle over on a neighborhood street in the Northwest District and pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the two male victims, robbing them of their cell phones and money. Zanders the drove the victims to numerous ATM machines in an attempt to withdraw cash using their credit cards.

     One of the victims was able to escape at a gas station in Washington, D.C., as Zanders and his friend went looking for a cash machine. After the first victim escaped, Zander drove the second victim to a supermarket in Maryland. Zanders and his friend then withdrew money from an ATM at the supermarket, using the man’s ATM card. They then drove to another location in Maryland and released the second victim.

     Later that same day, during the evening hours, Zanders and several of his associates gathered on the 900 Block of Longfellow Street in Northwest, D.C. Zanders had arranged a meeting to sell a vehicle to another individual, but in fact planned to steal the would-be buyers vehicle. 

     When the two new victims arrived in a green Dodge Charger, Zanders pulled out a handgun, threatened to shoot, and demanded cell phones, money and car keys. One of Zanders’ associates drove away in the 2019 Dodge Charger. Zanders and his remaining associates the drove away in their vehicles.

     Zanders was taken into custody on November 18, 2022, and charged. Zanders has remained in custody since his initial arrest.