DC Superior Court Judge Judith Pipe severed charges into two separate trials for a carjacking defendant on March 27.
Kwesi Pyne, 20, is charged with armed carjacking, assault with intent to commit robbery while armed, five counts of robbery while armed, seven counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of carrying a pistol without license outside a home or business, possession of unregistered firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, first-degree theft, second-degree theft, destruction of property less than 1,000 dollars, unlawful entry of a vehicle, unauthorized use of a vehicle during a crime of violence, and misdemeanor receiving stolen property.
The charges stem from Pyne’s alleged involvement in the following incidents:
- Armed carjacking at the 900 block of Randolph Street, NW on Oct. 30, 2023,
- Assault with intent to rob at the 3100 block of Mount Pleasant Street, NW on Feb. 7, 2024,
- Armed robbery at the 3600 block of 16th Street, NW on Feb. 7, 2024,
- Theft from auto with gun stolen on Feb. 10, 2024,
- Theft on Feb. 12, 2024,
- Armed robbery at the 3200 block of Mount Pleasant Street, NW on Feb. 12, 2024.
Pyne’s attorney, Bryan Bookhard, filed a motion to sever counts on Sept. 22, 2025. He argued that each incident is not related to each other, as the charges are not based on the same act or connected together. Therefore, they should not be tried under the same case.
In court, Judge Pipe said that the armed carjacking charge was very different from the others and asked the prosecutor about the weight of evidence connecting Pyne to the incident. The prosecutor said that the vehicle that was carjacked was found in the parking lot of Pyne’s apartment building.
Judge Pipe noted that Pyne lived in an apartment building and the vehicle in the parking lot did not necessarily link to his unit. Based on this, Judge Pipe felt that severance was warranted for the armed carjacking, two counts of possession of firearm during a crime of violence, and robbery while armed. Parties set a trial date for Sept. 9 for these charges.
Judge Pipe asked the parties about the evidence relating to the remaining incidents. The prosecutor said that he has stronger identity evidence for the other incidents because the description of the clothes of the perpetrator and Ring camera footage matches up.
Pyne’s attorney, Bryan Bookhard, argued that “Everybody wears Nike” in the community, so it could have been someone else on camera.
Judge Pipe decided to try the rest of the incidents under one trial because they were interconnected, because it appears that the same firearm was used for several of the incidents.
Parties are slated to reconvene on April 10.
