Judge Dismisses Firearm Charge in Carjacking Trial

By John Battistelli - April 14, 2025
Carjacking | Court | Daily Stories | Suspects |

DC Superior Court Judge Deborah Israel dismissed one of the two charges filed against Devonte Carter immediately before his trial concluded on April 10.

Carter, 30, was originally charged with armed carjacking and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in an incident on the 1400 block of Cedar Street, SE on July 10, 2024.

According to court documents, a Door Dash driver had just completed a delivery on a scooter when he was cut off by a black car and a suspect emerged with a gun. A second suspect identified as “Fat Boy” came out of the car and snatched the scooter key from the victim’s neck and drove away.

Carter’s attorney, Gregg Baron, filed a motion for a judgement of acquittal after the prosecution stated that another, unidentified suspect used a firearm to allow Carter’s taking of the vehicle. 

Following a lengthy discussion on April 9 and 10, Judge Israel ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove Carter’s use of a firearm. She said the prosecution didn’t show that Carter planned on using a gun before he allegedly took the vehicle. 

Judge Israel allowed the charge of armed carjacking to remain, on the condition that the jury also be instructed on a possible charge of unarmed carjacking. The jury will decide if Carter is guilty of either charge.

Baron recalled a detective with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) who previously testified for the prosecution. The detective explained that MPD got a search warrant for Carter’s phone in either October or November but found no cell site evidence placing Carter in the area of the incident.

The prosecution, in the cross-examination, asked the detective what information was found on the phone. The detective said there was no activity on the phone in July, suggesting Carter didn’t have the device phone when the incident occurred. 

In their closing, the prosecution emphasized that two people very familiar with Carter identified him as being in the apartment complex where the vehicle was recovered by MPD. They also reiterated that DNA tests of the vehicle showed an extremely high likelihood that Carter was a source of DNA. The prosecution stressed that the victim whose vehicle was taken would never give it up willingly, as “that moped was his way of feeding his family.”

In Baron’s closing, he asked the jury if “the government has given you everything you need to do what they’re asking you to do?” He explained that no one, not even the victim, identified Carter as the man who committed the carjacking. 

Baron argued that gaps in the surveillance video footage and allegedly untrue statements by the victim created reasonable doubt that Carter took the vehicle. Without denying that surveillance footage showed Carter on the vehicle, Baron reiterated a detective’s testimony from the previous day, saying stolen vehicles are commonly passed around to different people.

In response, the prosecution agreed that surveillance showed the stolen vehicle being passed between people, but they stressed that Carter was the first one to bring it to the apartment complex. They said that, if Carter did simply come into possession of the vehicle after the carjacking, he would “have to be the most unlucky guy in the world,” because his appearance perfectly matched the description of the carjacker. 

Parties are slated to reconvene on April 14.