Prosecutors and defense counsels rested their arguments on Dec. 3 in a carjacking trial involving seven defendants before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz.
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.
Proceedings began by finishing the cross examination of a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer on his knowledge of gang-related local slang by the prosecution.
Donna Beasley, attorney for Goff, confirmed the definitions of terms found in the exhibits like ‘joint’, ‘jhi’, and ‘kill’. The witness stated that he learned much of this both from his investigations but also from his time living in the DC area and attending Howard University.
Gretchen Franklin, attorney for Flowers, stated that many people use this sort of language, and nothing should be assumed about the defendants because of it. She also confirmed that the word “Jakes” is a direct reference to white police officers.
Ultimately, Sapirstein confirmed through the witness that slang words can often have multiple meanings and be spelled incorrectly over text.
McDaniel centered his questioning on the officer’s familiarity with the case, which revealed that he had been asked to testify only a few months before and was not involved in any of the investigations. He also confirmed the origin of the word “Jakes” from the movie “Training Day”, which is a reference to a white officer in the movie.
The prosecution concluded their case by presenting close to eighty minutes of footage.
Much of the footage was from a parking garage on the 1300 block of Florida Avenue, NE, where five different individuals can be seen walking in and out of one door and between two different vehicles. Two of the individuals had white shirts with dark pants while the others wore all black outfits. One of the people wearing white and “imitating basketball shots” was identified as someone unrelated to this case. The others were not identified.
Some of the shots were in an apartment building. Many individuals can be seen moving between two rooms. The exact number of people was unclear, and no one was identified.
After presenting all the surveillance footage, the prosecution rested.
Sapirstein brought in a private investigator who assisted in Ellis-Bey’s case to testify. She asked the investigator about a few specific pieces of evidence from the case: a flyer advertising a party and cell tower data of a phone tied to Ellis-Bey.
The cell tower was nearest to both the party, which was located on the 6500 block of Old Branch Avenue in Temple Hills, MD, and a Royal Farms gas station on the 6200 block of Allentown Road in Temple Hills, MD, where another carjacking occurred around midnight on Feb. 26, 2023.
According to the investigator, the address of the party and gas station were less than a half mile apart.
Stephen LoGerfo, attorney for Montgomery, called in Montgomery’s mother to testify.
LoGerfo showed two photographs from Feb. 16, 2023 and April 19, 2023. In the photos, Montgomery’s mother is seen holding her bank card, which she testified to having sent pictures of to Montgomery.
When asked by LoGerfo, “Why did you send [Montgomery] pictures of your bank card?” on both of those dates she answered, “so he could make a purchase.”
After Montgomery’s mother’s testimony, the defense rested their case which went to the jury for deliberation.
Parties are slated to reconvene Dec. 8.
