10 teens arrested, charged in connection to DC carjacking rings

The Department of Justice announced on Monday that 10 teenagers have been charged in connection to carjacking rings in the District of Columbia.

Seven teens were charged as part of a 19-count indictment filed in the Superior Court in the District of Columbia, five of which were underage at the time of the crimes, and three were charged as part of a 33-page superseding indictment filed in US District Court.

Jaelen Jordan, 18, and Warren Montgomery, 19, both of Washington D.C., and Byron Gillum, 18, Isaiah Flowers, 18, Jahkai Goff, 19, Taj Giles, 18, and Irshaad Ellis-Bey, 18, all of Prince Geroge’s County, Maryland, have been charged in the Superior Court as part of a conspiracy to commit a series of armed carjackings across the district between February and May 2023.

The indictment lists over 90 acts, including armed carjackings and robberies in Maryland and D.C. Jordan, Montgomery, Gillum, Flowers, Goff, Giles, and Ellis-Bey were also charged with the armed carjackings committed in D.C., as well as trafficking stolen property.

Jordan was arrested on May 17, 2023 following an investigation. Montgomery and Gillum were arrested on Oct.10, 2023, and Goff, Giles, and Ellis-Bey were arrested on Dec. 7, 2023. Flowers is detained in Prince George’s County on separate charges.

The superseding indictment filed in federal court charges Landrell Jordan III and Malik Norman, both 19 and of D.C., for conspiring with Cedae Hardy, 19, who was indicted back in August on 18 counts, and for their role in multiple carjackings in May and June 2023.

Hardy was initially indicted on charges related to six carjackings in D.C. and Maryland between April and June on 2023. The superseding indictment adds charges against Hardy in connection to five additional carjackings between January and May of 2023.

Hardy was charged with 29 of the 33 counts in the superseding indictment, including four counts of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle and three counts of sale or receipt of a stolen vehicle. 

Norman was charged with 13 counts, including four counts of carjacking, four counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, and two counts of sale or receipt of a stolen vehicle. 

Jordan was charged with five counts, including two counts of carjacking and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Hardy allegedly drove carjacked vehicles to a garage connected to an apartment complex located at 1326 Florida Avenue Northeast, Washington, D.C. A co-conspirator would then contact potential buyers, who turned out to be undercover Metropolitan Police Department officers. The co-conspirator would arrange meetups with the buyers at a predetermined location, and the co-conspirators and Hardy would share the earnings.

In May and June, Norman allegedly contacted Hardy on numerous occasions to request that he obtain vehicles. Hardy then would reportedly commit armed carjackings, and bring the vehicles to Norman in exchange for money. Jordan has been charged with allegedly participating in two of these armed carjackings that took place in May 2023, with the vehicles then being transferred to Norman.

The indictment alleges that on June 13, 2023, Norman requested two vehicles from Hardy, who a day later carjacked a woman in Southeast D.C. while she was placing her child into her car. Hardy then allegedly picked Norman up in the carjacked vehicle, and crashed into another driver.

The 10 teens are being charged as adults, and are allegedly responsible for at least 15 vehicle thefts in the D.C. area, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves said at a news conference, according to ABC 7.

Graves said the charges were a "serious response to show people that this is not a game. This is the real world and there will be real-world consequences."

The teens allegedly had a group chat where they discussed "some of the carjackings covered by these indictments," Graves said. "One Defendant wrote 'GTA IRL' which we allege means 'Grand Theft Auto' in real life," referencing the popular video game series.

As the year nears its end, D.C. has seen 933 carjackings, and 77 percent of these, or 718, involved guns. 167 arrests have been made, 62 percent of which were juveniles, according to MPD data.