ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Yonathan Melaku, 23, of Alexandria, Va., pled guilty today to damaging property and firearm violations involving five separate shootings at military installations in Northern Virginia between October and November 2010 and attempting to injure veterans’ memorials at Arlington National Cemetery.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.
Today, Melaku pled guilty to a three-count information that included injuring property of the United States, use of a firearm during a crime of violence, and attempted injury to veterans’ memorials on U.S. property. The defense and government jointly recommended in the plea agreement a sentence of 25 years in prison. He will be formally sentenced on April 27, 2012.
