Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Gun, Drug Charges After Fleeing Police in Stolen Vehicle

WASHINGTON - Fulani Hasan Tahrike Herrod, 24, a Maryland resident and a convicted felon, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in connection with his possession of a "ghost gun," ammunition, and crack cocaine recovered following a police pursuit through Northwest Washington that ended when he crashed a stolen vehicle, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Herrod pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss to one count of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. A sentencing date is scheduled for Nov. 6, 2026. Herrod faces a statutory maximum of 15 years in prison on the ammunition count and 20 years in prison on the drug count.

According to court papers, on March 8, 2026, a United States Park Police (USPP) officer monitoring police radio during a high-visibility patrol learned that a license plate reader had spotted a stolen vehicle, a black BMW sedan with Maryland tags, traveling in the area of Columbia Road NW.

The officer located the BMW near 16th Street and Irving Street NW and attempted to stop it. Herrod, the sole occupant, disregarded the officer's emergency lights and sirens and fled, running multiple traffic lights, driving at a high rate of speed, driving the wrong way, and colliding with several parked vehicles.

The pursuit ended in the area of 14th Street and Military Road NW, when Herrod drove over a curb and struck a parking sign, disabling the vehicle. As the officer attempted to handcuff him, Herrod got up and ran on foot, jumping a stone wall and crossing a grassy area before he was taken into custody with the assistance of the Metropolitan Police Department.

A search incident to arrest recovered a Maryland driver's license and $170 in cash from Herrod. In plain view on the driver's side floorboard of the vehicle, officers found a loaded, privately manufactured 9mm "ghost gun" bearing no serial number and untraceable by law enforcement. A backpack recovered from behind the driver's seat contained cocaine base, baking soda, a substance labeled as a cannabis concentrate, and a large quantity of small plastic bags. Laboratory testing by the Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed 22.34 grams of cocaine base and 6.06 grams of cocaine.

Herrod previously had been convicted in Montgomery County, Maryland, of possessing a loaded handgun in a vehicle, attempting to elude a uniformed police officer by fleeing on foot, and related traffic offenses.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Park Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington Division Office.

The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Liss, with significant assistance from former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ursula Simmons.

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