18-Year-Old Charged In Connection To Multiple Prince George's, Washington, DC, Carjackings

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — An 18-year-old Washington, D.C., man has been charged with 18 counts stemming from six separate carjackings carried out in D.C. and Maryland, including in Prince George's County. One of the attempted carjackings involved the shooting of a driver multiple times.

According to the indictment, Cedae Hardy carjacked victims of their vehicles at gunpoint around the District of Columbia and in Maryland. In four of the carjackings committed with unnamed co-conspirators, Hardy drove the carjacked vehicles to a garage adjoining an apartment complex located at 1326 Florida Avenue, Northeast, Washington, D.C., known as the “Florida Avenue Garage,” court documents showed.

A co-conspirator would contact potential buyers, who in these instances were undercover officers with the Metropolitan Police Department. The co-conspirator would arrange a time to meet the undercover officers at predetermined location - usually the Florida Avenue Garage – and complete the sale of the carjacked vehicles. The conspirators and Hardy would then split the proceeds, court documents indicated.

Hardy would communicate with the conspirators via text message. For example, on April 8, Hardy sent a co-conspirator a text message stating, “I’m outside now you can be on your way. Let’s get money my boy” and “[]I’m boutta get sum & bring it straight to you.” A few hours later, just 22 minutes after an armed carjacking of a Mercedes Benz SL550 in Hyattsville, Hardy arrived at the Florida Avenue Garage in the victim’s vehicle. Two co-conspirators opened the door to the Florida Avenue Garage for Hardy. The victim’s Mercedes was then sold on April 10 by a co-conspirator to MPD undercover officers for $1,200, prosecutors said.

On April 18, a victim was inside his Honda Civic when Hardy opened the passenger door and sat in the victim’s vehicle. Hardy pointed a gun at the victim and began to shout. The victim could not understand Hardy and tried to push him out of his vehicle, at which point Hardy fired multiple shots, striking the victim in the forearm and abdomen. Hardy exited the victim’s vehicle and fled back to Washington, D.C., prosecutors noted.

Carjacking carries a statutory maximum sentenced of 15 years in prison. Transportation of stolen goods and sale or receipt of stolen vehicles each carry a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The gun charges carry no statutory maximum and a mandatory minimum of 7 years. The charges also carry potential financial penalties, prosecutors said.