Carjacking Ring Members Face Prison Time: Court

The third member of a carjacking ring that preyed on drivers in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges.

David Nathaniel Peebles, 31, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to carjacking and to being a felon in possession of a gun.

According to his plea agreement, between January 2011 and April 1, 2012, Peebles and others planned carjackings, searched for potential targets, and armed themselves with weapons to use in the crimes.

Prosecutors outlined two carjackings in February 2012 that Peebles took part in, one in Silver Spring and the other in Mount Rainier. In the first case, Peebles, Jeffrey Carl Franklin, 29, of Greenbelt and another man drove to the Manchester Road area of Silver Spring, where they spotted a victim parking a 2008 Infiniti.

As the victim got out of her vehicle, two men approached the victim while Peebles remained in the car. The men took the victim’s purse, which contained the keys to her car, and drove away in the Infiniti, with Peebles following behind in a vehicle.

Four days later, Peebles and two others drove to the Russell Avenue area of Mount Rainier, looking for carjacking targets. Again, Peebles remained in the car to act as the getaway driver, while the two co-conspirators approached victims in a 2004 Acura TL, prosecutors say.

One of the carjackers pointed a gun at the driver’s head and ordered the driver out of the car. A second suspect approached the passenger in the Acura and demanded the passenger’s purse. When the woman refused, the suspect struck the victim in the face several times. The robbers stole the victims’ personal property, then drove off in the Acura while Peebles followed in their vehicle.

If the court accepts the plea agreement, Peebles will be sentenced to between seven and 15 years in prison. A sentencing hearing will be held April 8.

Franklin previously pleaded guilty to his role in the carjacking conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.