A 19-year-old gang member from Montgomery County, Maryland, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after he robbed a man of Louis Vuitton sunglasses and $700 aboard a Ride-On bus in April 2018.
Zachary Joseph Moko, of Olney, is a known member of Hitt Squad and 88 Crush Mob Gang, according to Montgomery County State’s Attorney spokesman Ramon Korionoff. Moko received the maximum sentence for second-degree assault, theft and robbery.
Charging documents say he and four others were playing a “money guessing game” on a Ride-On bus in Rockville on April 13, 2018. The scene turned violent when Moko was accused of cheating.
Moko grabbed the victim’s wallet from his back pocket and bit and punched the man twice. Joel Joseffe Junior Pierre, the victim, was able to rip off Moko’s silver chain and shirt, from where detectives later retrieved Moko’s DNA.
The Ride-On Bus stopped at the intersection of East Gude and Taft Street due to the fighting and Moko ran off the bus. Moko was then struck by a car, knocked to the ground and landed on his head, according to detectives who studied the surveillance video.
Moko continued to run away.
Detectives say Moko’s friends dropped him off at his home, “only to ‘pass out’ due to a head injury from when he was struck by the vehicle.” He was taken to a hospital, where Montgomery County police found him, according to WUSA9.
He’s faced multiple charges since 2014, such as strong-arm robbery, theft from an auto and burglary.
“This defendant has been preying on bus riders and others in the community long enough,” Korionoff said. “With this sentence, hopefully he will realize that violent acts of greed will not get him far in life and that he must repay society for the fear and loss it has been dealt at his hands.”
