DC Superior Court Judge Judith Pipe described the facts of a co-defendant carjacking case as “hotly contested” during a sentencing on Nov. 14.
Kevin Lester, 37, and Traviyan Hardy, 24, pleaded guilty on Sept. 8 to robbery and unauthorized use of a vehicle for their involvement in a carjacking on June 13 on the 3900 block of Benning Road, NE.
According to court documents, Hardy was in the passenger seat of the victim’s vehicle when Lester approached the vehicle, pulled the victim to the ground, and assaulted him. Lester and Hardy then robbed the victim and drove away in his vehicle.
At sentencing, Judge Pipe described the facts of the case as “hotly contested.” Lester’s attorney, Theodore Shaw, and Hardy’s attorney, Everald Thompson, asserted that the victim sexually assaulted Hardy while she was in his vehicle and Hardy contacted Lester for assistance because she was uncomfortable.
Shaw claimed a defense investigation corroborated Hardy’s version of events and showed parties text messages between Hardy and Lester during the incident.
Judge Pipe said the messages aligned with Hardy’s initial interview with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in which she told officers the victim offered to pay her for sex. Judge Pipe also noted that the victim was 71 while Hardy appeared to be a healthy 24-year-old.
Thompson believed Hardy was credible and said she did not originally disclose the assault to MPD because she was uncomfortable and doubted she would be taken seriously.
The prosecutor said the judge should not credit Hardy’s description of the incident because the objective evidence did not indicate sexual assault. According to the prosecutor, Hardy’s statements were not truthful but made in a “self-serving manner” to mitigate the sentence she received.
The prosecutor noted Hardy lacked a criminal history which weighed in her favor but requested she serve a top-of-the-guideline sentence of 60 months of imprisonment for robbery and 28 months for unauthorized use of a vehicle. The prosecution did not oppose concurrent sentences.
Thompson asked Judge Pipe to sentence Hardy under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA), which allows people under 25 who are convicted of certain crimes to have their convictions sealed or cleared after they successfully complete their sentence and potentially offers sentencing flexibility for the defendant. The prosecutor opposed the application of the YRA to Hardy’s sentence.
Thompson requested Hardy serve a split sentence with all time suspended but one year of imprisonment for robbery and six months for unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Regarding Lester, the prosecutor requested a 66 month prison sentence for robbery concurrent with 28 months for unauthorized use of a vehicle. The prosecutor noted Lester had multiple prior convictions including a felony.
The prosecutor said he believed the victim did not deserve the violent assault from Lester.
Shaw requested Lester serve 48 months of imprisonment concurrently for each charge. Shaw noted Lester’s acceptance of responsibility in the case through the plea deal and described him as “deeply remorseful” for his actions.
“[Lester’s] need to want to protect [Hardy] caused him to exercise some bad judgement,” said Shaw.
Shaw added that Lester was exposed to trauma throughout his life. According to Shaw, Lester’s mother was abused by her boyfriend, he was in the foster care system, and lacked stability his entire life.
First, Judge Pipe denied Hardy’s request for a YRA sentence. Judge Pipe then sentenced Hardy to 24 months of imprisonment for robbery and 24 months for unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Lester was sentenced to 54 months for robbery and 28 months for unauthorized use of a vehicle. The sentences for both defendants will run concurrently followed by three years of supervised release.
No further dates were set.
