Update: Suspect in 2 Carjackings, U Street Robbery is in Jail
The robbery on Saturday, November 21, at 1 p.m. was in front of Results Gym at 1612 U Street NW, a very busy location, particularly on a Saturday afternoon. (Luis Gomez Photos)
You may remember this story from November 24: “16th & U Robbery Suspect Was Free Pending Carjacking Trial.”
To summarize, there was a robbery in front of 1612 U Street NW (Results the Gym) on November 21 around 1 p.m. Just minutes later, the police arrested two guys for the crime.
According to the police, the suspects had just carjacked the car they were driving–before robbing the woman on U Street. The rest of the story is that one of the two guys had been arrested for carjacking in DC–and had been released on bail pending trial.
Then, after asking around I found out that carjacking does not automatically put you in jail until your trial. You can get out on bail. That’s the law in DC.
I followed up with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to find out about the two suspects in the U Street robbery. I was particularly interested in the one suspect who had committed a carjacking and then be released on bail.
According to a Community Prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, that particular suspect is being held pending trial: “Our office will oppose any request for release pending trial,” the prosecutor said. (Remember that DC does not have its own courts system; we are part of the federal courts.)
I am waiting to find out about the second suspect in the November 21 carjacking and robbery: in jail or out on bail? This is DC, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he is out on bail.
“Remember that DC does not have its own courts system; we are part of the federal courts.”
Not really true. DC does have its own court system for local crimes codified in the D.C. Code: D.C. Superior Court and D.C. Court of Appeals. These courts handle all matters that typically would be handled by the district attorney’s office (or equivalent) in other cities (e.g., trespass, shoplifting, assault, rape, murder, theft). Federal crimes, codified in the U.S. Code and punishable throughout the United States, are still handled in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The reason you spoke with an AUSA—a federal prosecutor—is that, unlike all other federal districts in the United States, almost all crimes in D.C. (local and federal) are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. (So called “quality of life” offenses (DUI, disorderly conduct, other traffic offenses) and juvenile crimes are handled by the D.C. Office of the Attorney General for D.C. These offenses, like other local offenses, are handled in D.C. Superior Court.) As such, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is split between AUSAs who handle prosecutions in Superior Court and those who handle prosecutions in U.S. District Court, as well as their respective courts of appeal.
I stand corrected. Thank you, Eric.