Accused Pentagon and Marine Museum shooter pleads guilty

Jonathan Melaku

The former Marine reservist who was accused of conducting a shooting spree of government and military buildings in the Washington, DC, area in the autumn of 2010 pleaded guilty to property damage and firearms violations in a federal court on Jan. 26.

Jonathan Melaku was detained by police last June for behaving suspiciously near the Pentagon, carrying a backpack containing shell casings, a notebook with references to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, and a small amount of a potential explosive. He has been charged by federal authorities with a series of shootings last fall of military buildings in the Washington area.

In court on Jan. 26, 2012, in Alexandria, VA, Melaku pleaded guilty to damaging property and firearm violations involving five separate shootings at military installations between October and November 2010 and attempting to deface veterans' memorials at Arlington National Cemetery.

Melaku could receive get 25 years in prison for the offenses, the Justice Department said in a statement. He is slated for sentencing on April 27. He had been held at a nearby suburban Virginia jail on unrelated car break-in charges. He tried to escape from the facility last June using a sharpened eating untesil.

According to court documents, Melaku admitted to two shootings at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, one at the Pentagon, another at a Marine Corps recruiting station and another at a US Coast Guard recruiting office in northern Virginia. The shootings typically occurred late at night or in early morning hours with multiple shots at each facility. Melaku also admitted to videotaping some of the shooting incidents.

"Yonathan Melaku pled guilty to carrying out a calculated, destructive campaign to instill terror throughout our community," said US Attorney Neil MacBride in a July 26 statement.

"The video he filmed during one drive-by shooting is a chilling portrayal of his intent and the escalating danger he posed,” he said. “Thanks to the FBI and their law enforcement partners, we were able to apprehend Mr. Melaku, develop the evidence that linked him to the shootings, and secure this conviction today."