Defendant Held for Carjacking, Pending Grand Jury

By D.C. Witness Staff - September 21, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Victims |

After witness testimony and legal debate, a  DC Superior Court judge found probable cause to move a carjacking case forward for a grand jury. 

Tyrell Frieson, 34, is charged with unarmed carjacking in connection with an incident that occurred on March 18 on the 500 block of 23rd Street, NW.

During the Sept. 21 preliminary hearing, Judge Robert Okun determined that the case had probable cause. However, he questioned if the alleged offense more closely resembled theft than carjacking.

Theft carries a lighter sentence than carjacking, according to Justia, a legal resources website.  In DC, the minimum sentence for carjacking is seven years and the maximum is 21 years, according to the DC Code. The minimum sentence for theft is two and a half years and the maximum is 15 years.

Defense attorney Peter Fayne argued that carjacking differentiates from theft because it requires force or violence. Fayne argued that his client, who was unarmed when the alleged crime occurred, did not commit any acts of violence. 

Fayne also argued that the vehicle was already stolen when the victim managed to jump into the backseat of the vehicle; therefore, the crime has already been committed – and that crime is theft. 

However, the prosecution argued that because the e-brake was still on when the victim jumped into the backseat, the vehicle must not have moved; therefore, the crime had not yet been completed.

The prosecution further argued carjacking is a subset of robbery in which sudden or stealthy seizure is considered violent. The prosecution also argued that there was violence since there was a physical struggle in the vehicle and the defendant smacked the victim’s phone out of their hand when trying to call the police. 

Judge Okun said that, while this is one of the weaker carjacking cases he’s seen, the events are consistent with a carjacking. 

He agreed with the prosecution’s argument of force or violence being broadly interpreted as a sudden or stealthy seizure.

Judge Okun noted that when the victim attempted to repossess his car, there is violence. In accordance with previous case law, the defendant does not have to take possession of the vehicle initially but could possess it at any point during the crime.

Judge Okun also decided to continue holding the defendant at DC Jail. 

Noting the defendant’s intent to submit a plea of insanity, the court set a date for a Criminal Responsibility Exam which will occur on Nov. 18.

On March 3, the victim, a Uber food driver, was delivering an order to a client and decided to leave his keys in the ignition and the door unlocked of his rental car. The victim said that, as he was returning to his vehicle, he noticed the defendant walking around the vehicle and eventually getting in the car. 

According to court documents, upon seeing the defendant get into the vehicle, the victim ran to the car and yelled at the defendant. Frieson put the car in drive and attempted to leave the scene but could not because the parking brake was on. The victim proceeded to enter the vehicle through the rear passenger door in an attempt to repossess the car. 

Both parties engaged in a physical altercation. Frieson tried to slap the victim’s phone out of their hand when they said they were going to call the police. 

The defendant proceeded to crash the car into a tree and light post. The victim was thrown from the backseat and into the windshield. He was treated for injuries at a local hospital.

Frieson was later picked up by canvassing officers after a witness reported seeing a man without shoes leaving the scene.