Two Orlando Men Involved In Carjacking Of Federal Officer Sentenced To Federal Prison

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Middle District of Florida
27 April 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell has sentenced two Orlando men for carjacking and using a firearm while committing that offense. Gregory McDonald (18) was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and Dante Askins (18) was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. Both men pleaded guilty in February 2016.

According to court documents, on August 12, 2015, McDonald and Askins committed an armed carjacking of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at a hotel in Orlando. The victim, who was on vacation with his family, had gone down to his SUV in the hotel parking lot to preload his GPS for a trip to Destin the next morning. Askins approached the victim and stuck a long-barreled .22 caliber revolver in his face. He, along with McDonald and two minors, then forced the victim into the backseat of his vehicle at gunpoint. McDonald pistol whipped the victim three times in the back of the head. The carjackers held the victim for approximately two hours. When OnStar location services contacted the vehicle, the carjackers fled and the victim escaped.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany L. Cummins.