An undercover police officer described the purchase of what the prosecution says is a stolen car before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz in carjacking, conspiracy trial on Nov. 13.
Taj Giles, 20, Irshaad Ellis-Bey, 20, Byron Gillum, 20, Jaelen Jordan, 20, Warren Montgomery, 20, Isaiah Flowers, 20, and 21-year-old Jahkai Goff are charged with armed robbery, armed carjacking, armed robbery of a senior citizen, armed carjacking of a senior citizen, four counts of firearm possession during a crime of violence, two counts of unauthorized vehicle use, trafficking in stolen property, and conspiracy.
The charges stem from their alleged involvement in a Feb. 27, 2023 armed carjacking at the intersection of 20th Street and Sunderland Place, NW, and an April 27, 2023 armed carjacking at the intersection of 8th Street and K Street.
Giles, Ellis-Bey, Gillum, Jordan, Flowers, and Goff are additionally charged with armed robbery, armed carjacking, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, unauthorized vehicle use during a crime of violence, unauthorized vehicle use, and receiving stolen property for their alleged involvement for an armed carjacking of a senior citizen at the 600 block of Butternut Street, NE on May 16, 2023.
An undercover officer who bought cars suspected of being carjacked testified to three interactions he had with Jordan. The officer allegedly met with Jordan to purchase vehicles twice and had called him once to confirm one of the transactions which were captured on video, including a clip of Jordan showing off a stolen vehicle.
In a clip from a later date, the officer is heard calling Jordan, to confirm a second purchase. The officer can be heard saying “here you go” to Jordan, and handing him the money for a Porsche which the officer turned over for evidence processing.
When cross-examined by Brian McDaniels, Jordan’s attorney, the officer admitted he did not have any training, but learned from on-the-job experience.
McDaniels also asked about the relationship between the officer and Jordan–the officer initially claimed he did not have to establish a relationship, as an undercover agent would for a longer operation. However, he did say that the two established a level of trust where Jordan referred to him as “uncle” and he referred to Jordan as “nephew” during transactions. He also stated that while he knew Jordan was young, he did not know that he was a teenager at the time.
When asked how the officer originally met Jordan, the issue was discussed among Judge Kravitz, McDaniels, and Jordan in private, and the judge said, “I don’t think anyone else has a right to hear this right now.”
McDaniels and the prosecutors both said they would need time to explain the matter fully.
In a brief motions discussion before the trial, the parties discussed the admissibility of videos and images taken from police body-worn cameras during the arrests of the defendants.
The prosecution wanted to introduce several images and videos taken from body camera footage to the jury, but Ellis-Bey’s defense attorney, Lisbeth Sapirstein, objected, claiming that many of the images, including shots that showed the defendants in handcuffs, were prejudicial and “unnecessary.”
The prosecution argued that the jury needed to see the “full stature” of the defendants at the time of their arrest, which made the images more relevant than prejudicial. Judge Kravitz disagreed and told the prosecution to edit police officers out of any images and excluded a still shot of Ellis-Bey in handcuffs, so they wouldn’t unduly bias the jury.
In addition, the prosecution also planned to show a video of officers recovering a firearm Flowers allegedly discarded while fleeing officers. Judge Kravtiz called the video “problematic” and prejudicial, stating that the jury may misunderstand Flowers’ running away as “consciousness of guilt.” He said that he didn’t want the jury to think Flowers was running because of his alleged involvement in the carjackings, when it is possible it was because he had an unregistered firearm.
Gretchen Franklin, counsel for Flowers, brought up a court order keeping his family from visiting Flowers in jail. Saperstein, said she had received a similar order for Ellis-Bey. Judge Kravitz said he had not given that court order.
The matter has yet to be resolved among the parties.
Trial is set to reconvene on Nov. 14 to handle several outstanding issues.
