WASHINGTON – Van Robinson, 44, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 101 months for his participation in the violent, armed gang of drug dealers known as the “21st and Vietnam” crew which distributed an array of narcotics in Northeast Washington D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“Robinson was a key member of a crew that menaced our community around 21 st Street and Maryland Avenue for years with its toxic mix of lethal drugs and random violence,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “With Robinson’s sentencing today, the 21 st and Vietnam crew has definitively been put out of business.”
Robinson, aka “Boogie,” pleaded guilty on March 19, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine and to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. In addition to the prison term, Judge Beryl A. Howell ordered Robinson to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, the 21st and Vietnam crew distributed crack cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs in significant quantities and were involved in two shootings charged in connection with this case: a March 7, 2024, incident in which co-defendant Charles Manson opened fire on a passerby walking his dog near the crew’s open-air drug market; and an April 19, 2024, drive-by shooting, committed by co-defendants Briyon Shuford and Trevon Palmer, which wounded four people and terrorized others.
Robinson was an active member of 21 st and Vietnam, which staged a takeover of an apartment complex and used it as a headquarters for the crew’s operations. Robinson was observed by law enforcement on a near daily basis in and around the apartment complex on the 1900 block of I Street NE during the course of the investigation, working with his co-conspirators to sell drugs.
During the execution of a search warrant on May 15, 2024, at Robinson’s residence, investigators recovered a loaded Glock 27 firearm, 14 grams of suspected fentanyl, and an assortment of drug trafficking paraphernalia.
Robinson is the twelfth and final member of the 21 st and Vietnam crew to be sentenced in this case.
Damien Jenkins, aka “Woe,” was sentenced to 151 months Trevon Palmer, aka “Rocky,” was sentenced to 192 months Charles Manson, aka “Cheese,” was sentenced to 170 months Jamiek Bassil, aka “Onion,” was sentenced to 135 months Nathaniel Russell, aka “Thump,” was sentenced to 42 months Briyon Shuford, aka: “Breezy,” was sentenced to 161 months Jason Green was sentenced to 115 months Ahmed Mikal Bailey was sentenced to 30 months Jerome Powell was sentenced to 27 months Lydell Douglas was sentenced to 24 months Abrian Walker was sentenced to 12 months with 6 months home confinement Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement were DEA Special Agent in Charge Chris Goumenis of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington Division Office, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, and Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
The case was investigated by the DEA Washington Division, the FBI Washington Field Office, and the MPD. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
This matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Duvall and Solomon Eppel.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — District of Columbia — U.S. Department of Justice press release.