DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz reviewed social media evidence in a carjacking conspiracy case with seven co-defendants before jury selection on Oct. 29.
Irshaad Ellis-Bey, 20, Isaiah Flowers, 20, Taj Giles, 20, Bryon Gillum, 20, Jahkai Goff, 21, Jaelen Jordan, 20, and Warren Montgomery, 20, are charged with conspiracy, trafficking stolen property, two counts of armed carjacking, two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of robbery while armed. These charges stem from the group’s alleged involvement in a series of armed carjackings and the subsequent distribution of the stolen vehicles between February and May of 2023.
One of the carjackings occurred on Feb. 27, 2023 at the intersection of 20th Street and Sunderland Place, NW. Another carjacking took place at the intersection of K and 8th Street, NE, on April 27, 2023.
Additionally, Ellis-Bey, Flowers, Giles, Gillum, Goff, and Jordan are charged with two additional counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, armed carjacking of a senior citizen, receiving stolen property of $1000 or more, and robbery of a senior citizen while armed. These charges stem from their alleged involvement in a carjacking that occurred on the 600 block of Butternut Street, NW, on May 16, 2023.
During the hearing, parties discussed motions regarding Instagram messages among the defendants that the prosecutors want to introduce during trial. Goff, Gillum and their defense attorneys, Donna Beasley and Janai Reed, opposed admitting the messages into evidence.
Judge Kravitz noted some specific messages that, to him, seemed irrelevant or missing context. One read “Aye, Geet, I need…” The prosecution claimed that “Geet” is a nickname for Giles that the other defendants used and the message would connect Giles to the alleged conspiracy.
Judge Kavitz asked why part of the message was redacted? The prosecution stated that the part they excluded was someone asking for marijuana. They stated the relevance of the message was Giles’ nickname and not the request, but the redacted message still included part of it with the phrase “I need…” Judge Kravitz asked them to remove that part of the message.
Another message stated “Haven’t ran into none of them yet.” The prosecution argued this was referring to the police. Judge Kravitz noted that it was sent 30 minutes after the carjacking on Feb. 27, 2023 and allowed the message into evidence.
Judge Kravitz excluded a message that read “craziest night of my life.” He stated it was not sent the day of the incident and could refer to any night on its own.
The prosecution argued to admit a message that read “nahfr love y’all almost took a couple life’s” for two different reasons. They stated that “love y’all” was admissible as a state of mind statement and that “almost took a couple life’s” exposed the defendant’s criminal behavior.
The motion discussion was interrupted, as the final stage of jury selection needed to begin.
Parties are slated to reconvene to conclude motions on Oct. 30.
