A 29-year-old District man who was convicted on weapons charges under his brother’s name was sentenced to 15 years in prison after authorities untangled his true identity, according to Prince George’s County State’s Attorneys office.
When Jonathan Murray was arrested in 2007 on a charge of illegally possessing a firearm, he falsely told police that he was Darryl Murray, his brother who has a clean record, authorities said. At the May 2008 trial, Jonathan Murray continued to pretend that he was Darryl Murray. The jury took 45 minutes to return a guilty verdict.
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While in jail awaiting sentencing, Jonathan Murray wrote a letter to the assistant state’s attorney, confessing that he was not who he said he was, prosecutors said.
“I’m really, really sorry for this. I didn’t mean any harm … ,” Murray wrote on May 28 last year. “I was just confused about this situation.”
Darryl Murray has no criminal record, while Jonathan Murray had a long rap sheet, said state’s attorney spokesman Ramon Korionoff.
“I think [Jonathan] probably had a some feeling of guilt for throwing his brother, figuratively, under the bus,” Korionoff said.
The brothers do not look alike, although they are close in age, Korionoff said.
Jonathan Murray has multiple convictions in the District for assault, including for assault with intent to commit robbery, and possession of a firearm, prosecutors said. He was also arrested in Maryland on allegations that he beat a person with a handgun, prosecutors said.
At the time of his 2007 weapons arrest, Jonathan Murray was a fugitive after walking away from a halfway house for crimes he committed in D.C., Korionoff said.
Prosecutors weren’t able to determine Murray’s true identity sooner because of the huge volume of cases processed in D.C. and Prince George’s.
“Especially with a suspect with a similar name or who uses someone else’s identity, it can take a while before the jurisdictions can sort it out,” Korionoff said.
Last week, Judge Albert Northrop sentenced Jonathan Murray to the maximum sentence of 15 years. After he serves his time for the Prince George’s charge, he’ll be handed over to D.C. authorities on the warrant for running away from the halfway house.
