Prosecutors charged 10 teenagers Monday who are accused of forcefully robbing at least a dozen drivers in the District of their vehicles as part of two separate carjacking rings.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said the two carjacking rings — one consisting of seven teens being charged in D.C. Superior Court, and the other a three-man crew being charged federally in the U.S. District Court — operated between January and June throughout the District and often involved the teens stealing vehicles at gunpoint.
The larger ring is connected to multiple carjacking, armed robbery and trafficking of stolen property cases, authorities said, and charges have been brought against Jaelen Jordan, 18, and Warren Montgomery, 19, both of Washington, D.C., as well as Byron Gillum, 18, Isaiah Flowers, 18, Jahkai Goff, 19, Taj Giles, 18, and Irshaad Ellis-Bey, 18, all of Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Prosecutors said five of the seven defendants were juveniles at the time of the offenses.
The attorney’s office said Mr. Jordan was arrested in May, while Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Gillum were taken into custody in October. The four remaining defendants were all arrested Thursday.
“The overwhelming majority arrested for carjacking are juveniles and many of the adults are themselves teenagers,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said in a press release. “To the teenagers fueling these crimes, know that there is no such thing as a ‘free ride.’ Masks will not protect you. We will track you down and aggressively pursue the charges that fit the crime in our continuing effort to make the community safe — including charging juveniles as adults where appropriate — and bringing federal charges.”
Those charged federally with carjacking include Cedae Hardy, Landrell Jordan III and Malik Norman, all of whom are 19 and are from Washington, D.C.
Mr. Hardy, who was first indicted in August, was hit with additional charges, including accusations that he shot a rideshare driver multiple times during a carjacking.
Mr. Jordan and Mr. Norman are both facing weapons and carjacking charges, with Mr. Norman also being charged with interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle and selling a stolen vehicle.
Prosecutors accuse Mr. Hardy and his co-conspirators of driving the carjacked vehicles to a garage on Florida Avenue, Northeast, and reselling the cars.
On April 8, the indictment said the suspects sold a stolen Mercedes for $1,200 to undercover D.C. Metropolitan Police officers.
Prosecutors also said Mr. Norman would pay Mr. Hardy for carjacked vehicles that he brought in while the theft ring was still active. Mr. Jordan helped Mr. Hardy carjack at least two vehicles during this arrangement, according to the indictment.
The attorney’s office said one of Mr. Norman’s requests resulted in Mr. Hardy carjacking a woman in Southeast in June while the victim was putting her children in the car. Prosecutors said Mr. Hardy sped off and crashed the vehicle into another driver.
“The number of armed carjackings Cedae Hardy and his co-conspirators are alleged to have committed is truly astonishing,” David Sundberg, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, said in a press release. “Today’s indictment illustrates the ruthlessness with which these carjackers selected vulnerable targets of opportunity as their victims, including a dentist on her way to work; a mother buckling her young children into her vehicle in front of an elementary school; an elderly couple pulling into the driveway of their home; and a rideshare driver who was allegedly shot by Hardy.”
All defendants in both carjacking rings are currently behind bars.
The defendants in the larger carjacking ring will be arraigned Thursday in D.C. Superior Court.