Parties in a carjacking case clashed over where the defendant obtained a Moncler jacket during a jury trial in DC Superior Court Judge Andrea Hertzfeld’s courtroom on July 1. The luxury-brand line of garments can come with a $2,000-plus price tag.
Orlin Lemus-Cruz, 22, is charged with armed carjacking, five counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of robbery while armed, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction for his alleged involvement in a carjacking that occurred on the 3100 block of Hiatt Place, NW, on March 26, 2025.
Lemus-Cruz’s co-defendants, 21-year-old Julio Villafranco and 26-year-old Jason Benitez-Umanzor, previously pleaded guilty on Nov. 19, 2025 and were sentenced for their involvement in the same incident.
In their opening statements, prosecutors alleged that Lemus-Cruz can be seen in security camera footage of the crime with the jacket under his arm. They also claimed that days after, Lemus-Cruz sent messages to his former co-defendants stating that he “scammed the Moncler.”
To corroborate their claims, the prosecution showed the jury body-worn camera footage in which Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers allegedly found the Moncler coat in Lemus-Cruz’s backpack.
While Lemus-Cruz’s attorney, Quiana Harris, did not dispute that the coat was in her client’s backpack, she claimed that “he was sold a Moncler coat” by Benitez-Umanzor.
Harris noted that Lemus-Cruz likely knew the jacket was stolen, but that “buying a coat is not committing a robbery.”
Following opening statements, the prosecution called an MPD officer to testify about arresting Lemus-Cruz on April 5, 2025 and discovering the stolen merchandise.
The officer said Lemus-Cruz claimed ownership of the coat and misrepresented his identity by saying his name was “Orlando.” The officer’s body-worn camera footage apparently confirmed this testimony, but showed Lemus-Cruz identifying himself as both “Orlin” and “Orlando.”
Harris argued that the testifying officers possibly held a racial bias, citing the officers calling Orlin Lemus-Cruz “Jose” multiple times. The misidentification was confirmed by an arresting officer.
The prosecution also called another officer to testify, who recognized Lemus-Cruz from a Be on the Lookout (BOLO) alert and attempted to apprehend Lemus-Cruz hours after the robbery.
As the officer pulled up to the suspect, body-worn camera footage showed the officer shouting, “I know that kid. That’s Orlin Lemus-Cruz.”
The defendant allegedly fled on a bike as the officer approached.
For her part, Harris discussed her plan to question the second testifying officer about his personnel performance records when the court reconvenes at a later date. They allegedly include two pending investigations among other alleged infractions. According to Harris the officer is currently under review for an incident in October of 2024 and use of force in February of 2025.
Harris was not able to cross-examine this witness during this day of trial. She noted that she would use the time to look into these performance records.
Prosecutors also called the U.S. Attorney’s Office digital investigative analyst who worked on Lemus-Cruz’s case.
The analyst said he verified two Instagram accounts allegedly belonging to Villafranco and Lemus-Cruz by matching Instagram account data to their birthdays, photo IDs, email addresses, and Snapchat usernames. He also identified a series of Instagram direct messages between the two accounts reportedly connected to the robbery.
One message, allegedly between an unidentified Instagram user and Lemus-Cruz, said Lemus-Cruz’s former codefendants “took they moped, pistol whipped em… beat ts [the s***] outta em it was on Killmoe News.”
Harris argued the analyst’s investigation was “speculative” and did not prove the Instagram profiles belonged to the defendants.
The prosecution described Killmoe News as an independent news outlet within the District’s area. A screenshot of the robbery as reported by Killmoe News was reporteddly found on the defendant’s phone, along with screenshots from the Moncler website.
Parties are scheduled to continue the trial on July 2.
