Judge Finds Probable Cause, Orders Detentions in Carjacking Case

By Jenna Lee - October 9, 2024
Carjacking | Court | Daily Stories | Suspects |

On Oct. 8, DC Superior Court Judge Heide Herrmann found probable cause during carjacking co-defendants’ preliminary hearing. 

Terrell Edmondson, 18, and Taurian Anderson, 20, are charged with armed carjacking and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for their alleged involvement in an incident that occurred at a gas station on the 5200 block of Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE on Oct. 4.

According to court documents, the victim in the case reported two individuals getting out of a car at the gas station, approaching him with a gun and forcing him to turn over his keys and cell phone. 

Prosecutors called an officer with the Capitol Police Department who testified that he engaged in a chase with a gold Infinity that had allegedly been stolen on Oct 4. He testified that he observed the car weaving in and out of traffic before it eventually crashed and two individuals stepped out of the car.

The witness said the two suspects ran in different directions and he pursued the one that was later identified as Anderson to the Anacostia river, where Anderson pointed a gun at his own head. He said at that point a crisis negotiation team was deployed and they apprehended Anderson. 

The witness testified that no weapons were recovered on Edmondson upon arrest and the gun that Anderson was holding was found the next day in the river. 

The witness testified that he did not participate in the interviews of the suspects, but heard from other officers that Edmondson said he was at the gas station during the carjacking and that he had received a call from Anderson earlier about purchasing a vehicle. The witness testified that Anderson said during his interview that he was in possession of a handgun while in the stolen vehicle. 

Varsha Govindaraju, Edmondson’s attorney, asked the witness why the victim described the car the two suspects were in at the gas station as a black Audi in his statement when the car turned out to be a blue Mercedes? The witness said during the interview the victim had trouble recalling the make and model of the vehicle and an officer may have suggested it was an Audi because the victim said there was a circle on the logo. 

According to the officer, there is no surveillance footage of the incident.

Marnitta King, Anderson’s attorney, and Govindaraju asked the judge not to find probable cause because of inconsistencies in the victim’s statements about the make and model of the car. 

They also argued that the victim’s descriptions of the suspects did not match the defendants. Govindaraju said since there was a span of hours between the carjacking and the arrest, there is uncertainty about if the car changed hands during that time. 

Judge Herrmann found probable cause for the carjacking due to the defendants’ statements to law enforcement allegedly saying they were at the scene of the carjacking. She ordered both to continue to be detained. 

Parties will reconvene on Oct. 18.