Department of Justice

Greenbelt, Maryland – In recognition of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland is highlighting the recent prosecution of three defendants, in unrelated cases, for charges arising from separate incidents of domestic abuse, including assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, and malicious destruction of property by fire, respectively.

The guilty plea and sentencings were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Acting U.S. Park Police Chief Christopher Stock; Maryland State Fire Marshal Brian S. Geraci; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Niles R. Ford of the Baltimore City Fire Department.

“Domestic abuse is a serious problem that tears at the fabric of family and society. Standing together with our local law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not hesitate to use appropriate federal statutes to confront domestic violence and hold abusers accountable.” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron.

United States v. Kyrie Thompson

On September 28, 2022, Kyrie Thompson, age, 28, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to attempted witness tampering and the kidnapping of a female victim who was the mother of his child. As detailed at his plea hearing, in September 2019, when the victim drove her car to Thompson’s residence to drop off their child, Thompson entered the victim’s car and directed the victim to drive to a Maryland address. Once parked, Thompson forced the victim to perform oral sex on him and Thompson recorded the assault on his cellular phone. After the incident, the victim drove Thompson back to his residence and the victim drove home and called the police.

In December 2019, a federal grand jury indicted Thompson for kidnapping. Soon after, Thompson contacted the victim and begged her to change her statement to law enforcement so Thompson could avoid prosecution.

Thompson faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison for kidnapping, a maximum of sentence of 20 years of federal imprisonment for attempted witness tampering. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm has not scheduled his sentencing hearing at this time.

United States v. Johnnie Currie

According to defendant Currie’s guilty plea, in February 2020, Currie picked up the victim to transport her from her night job to her daytime job. While traveling in the car with Currie, the victim noticed that Currie was irritated and was driving erratically. When Currie and the victim arrived at her daytime job, the business was still locked. While the victim waited for the manager to arrive and unlock the business, the victim and Currie got into an argument. During the argument, Currie threw the contents of a lemonade bottle at the victim and locked the victim in his car against her will. He then drove out of the parking lot, with the victim still trapped in the car. When the victim tried to call her boss on her cell phone, Currie threatened to crash the car and kill the victim.

Currie continued to argue with the victim and told her that if she was happy with him, they would not have any problems. Currie then told the victim to exit the car, but when the victim tried to get out, he locked the doors again and drove off erratically.

Eventually, Currie drove onto the Baltimore-Washington Parkway where he pulled out a box cutter and cut the victim on her thigh. The victim began to cry and called 911. Currie told the victim he would take her to the emergency room. To tend to her wound, the victim wrapped her thigh in a shirt. Currie drove past a Prince George’s County emergency center. The victim again attempted to call 911 and Currie demanded her cell phone. When the victim refused to give Currie her phone, he pulled out a hot cigarette lighter and threatened to ignite the shirt she used to cover her wound. Currie then drove to a Washington, D.C. emergency room where he ordered the victim to get out of the car. The victim limped into the emergency room and received medical attention including 25 stitches. Currie admitted that he confined the victim to the vehicle to maintain control over her and to perpetuate an argument.

On September 21, 2022, U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Johnnie Currie, age 42, of Washington, D.C, to 46 months in federal prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release for assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury related to his assault on an ex-girlfriend. Judge Grimm also ordered that Currie attend domestic abuse counseling.

United States v. Luther Moody Trent

According to court documents, in May 2021, defendant Trent poured gasoline along the exterior of a Baltimore residence of his former girlfriend (Victim 1) while Victim 1 and two other victims were inside the home. The fire caused significant damage to the residence and the adjoining property, however, all three victims were alerted and escaped without injury.

Before the case was prosecuted federally, Trent was interviewed by a local news station about the arson. During that interview, he claimed to have set Victim 1’s residence on fire because he was upset that he could not see Victim 1 within a romantic relationship. Further, Trent compared his actions to Romeo and Juliet and stated that “if I can’t have her, nobody can, or at least no one in Baltimore.”

In August 2022, defendant Trent was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for malicious destruction of property by fire. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander also ordered Trent to pay $612,700.12 in restitution to the owner of the property that was damaged by the fire.

If you are someone you know is a survivor of domestic abuse or would like to report domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224 or 1-206-518-9361 (video phone only for hearing impaired callers). You can also contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline online at https://www.thehotline.org/. For additional domestic abuse resources please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/victim-witness-assistance.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF, the U.S. Park Police, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Baltimore City Fire Department for their work in the investigations. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leah Grossi, Bijon Mostoufi, and Elizabeth Wright who prosecuted the federal cases.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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