Woodbridge Man Who Robbed Undercover Detective Convicted: Authorities

WOODBRIDGE, VA — A judge convicted a Woodbridge man of robbing an undercover police detective in September 2022, the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney announced. The robbery occurred as the undercover detective tried to purchase fentanyl.

The robbery led to a police shootout that killed Jaiden Carter. In October 2022, authorities determined that deadly force was justified.

On Oct. 13, Jalil Turner was found guilty of robbery causing a death, attempted aggravated murder, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, and distribution of a controlled substance. A Prince William County judge accepted Turner's guilty plea for the charges.

Turner will be sentenced on Jan. 25, 2024.

"Tackling the trafficking of drugs, especially fentanyl, in Prince William County is an important and dangerous task," Commonwealth's Attorney Amy Ashworth said. "This case is an example of how quickly things can go badly and while we regret the loss of any life, we are glad that no innocent bystanders or members of our law enforcement teams were injured or killed."

Read more: Deadly Force Was Justified In Woodbridge Police Shooting: Report

According to a report from the Prince William County Police Department, a Manassas City detective arranged to buy fentanyl pills and a firearm. An undercover detective had previously purchased 500 fentanyl pills from Turner, authorities said.

The detective met Shane Pollard, Turner, and Carter in the 14700 block of Fox Glove Court in Woodbridge on Sept. 1, 2022.

The three men arrived in a separate vehicle before one of them, who police identified as Turner, got into the detective's vehicle. Turner spoke with the detective, left, and got back into the vehicle with Carter, police said.

Authorities claimed that Turner then pulled out a handgun to rob the undercover detective. Meanwhile, Pollard used the other vehicle to block the detective's vehicle, according to the police report.

Carter had the detective open the trunk of his vehicle to look for the money that was supposed to be used to buy the gun and drugs. Carter and Turner took money and property from the detective, the police department said.

Carter, Pollard, and Turner then tried to drive away as other detectives arrived to arrest them, police said.

Investigators determined that one detective ordered the vehicle to stop before Turner fired gunshots from their vehicle. Detectives and police officers returned fire, killing Carter and wounding Pollard.

After the shooting, members of the Critical Incident Response Team from outside Prince William County investigated the shooting to determine if lethal force was justified.

“In this incident, the danger posed by three suspects in the vehicle was real and posed an imminent threat of death or bodily harm to the officers,” Ashworth said in a 2022 report. “Accordingly, I find that the use of deadly force was both justified and reasonable under the circumstances of this tragic encounter.”