A carjacking defendant has been aquitted of all charges by a jury after she detailed her account of the incident during the trial on June 12 before DC Superior Court Judge Andrea Hertzfeld.
Taya Johnson, 26, was charged with armed carjacking, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault on a police officer, destruction of property over $1,000 and two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, for her alleged involvement in an incident that occurred on Jan. 16 at the intersection of 14th and V Streets, SE.
Johnson claimed she was protecting herself from a driver who was menacing her and her children.
According to court documents, Johnson allegedly took control of a rideshare driver’s vehicle after an altercation during which the driver tried to remove her from the car while her one and three-year old children were still inside the vehicle.
During her testimony, Johnson stated that after finishing work as a bus attendant, she ordered an Empower rideshare to pick up her son from daycare. She described how the vehicle that arrived looked different from the one displayed in the company’s app, and when she approached, the driver questioned her identity and initially kept the door locked. Once inside, Johnson said, the driver asked her to get off the phone. After an argument, the driver exited the car and allegedly attempted to pull her out.
Johnson stated she locked the doors and pulled out a knife to slash the car’s tires, claiming she feared for her safety and that the driver would leave with her children still in the car. As Johnson tried to slash the car’s tires, the driver started recording the scene with his phone and the video was presented as evidence by the prosecution.
Johnson alleged the driver swung at her which wasn’t captured on the mobile phone video. The video also recorded the driver’s calling her a menace to society.
She testified police arrived with guns drawn and ordered Johnson to show her hands. She didn’t show them right away as she was concerned for the safety of her children and held onto them.
The prosecution focused on Johnson’s possession of a knife that resembled a firearm, questioning her about whether she used the knife because it looked like a gun, or used it in ways that imitated how a person would handle a gun.
In closing statements, the prosecution emphasized inconsistencies between Johnson’s testimony and the video footage presented, and argued that her actions were motivated by anger rather than self-defense. They asked that the jury find Johnson guilty on all counts.
Defense attorney Andrew Clarke claimed the driver escalated the situation from the start and that the driver may have started recording because he was on probation and feared legal trouble. The defense said Johnson acted in self-defense when the driver attempted to pull her from the car and strike her.
Clarke argued that much of the driver’s testimony was either fabricated or illogical. Specifically he said that if Johnson really did have a gun, as the driver claimed, why would he take a swing at the Johnson and try to grab her keys rather than trying to get away. It also made no sense, according to Clarke, that the driver would start yelling about a gun only after he got a better look at the weapon which was, in fact, a knife.
The jury returned a verdict of not guilty on all counts.
Johnson had previously plead guilty to assault on a police officer during the same incident but that was not part of this trial.
