A D.C. man could spend decades in prison following a guilty plea for his role in a series of carjackings across the region in 2024, including two locations in Bailey’s Crossroads.
Taurian Anderson, 21, pleaded guilty Monday (Aug. 17) to one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking, one count of carjacking and aiding and abetting, and to two counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
A plea agreement between the prosecution and defense calls for 16 to 24 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
“From August 2024 through October 2024, Taurian Anderson and others conspired to commit a series of armed carjackings,” a statement of offense signed by the defendant reads. “It was the goal of the conspiracy that the conspirators would acquire vehicles from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, by way of carjacking, to then use for the commission of other criminal offenses and to sell to third parties in the District of Columbia and elsewhere for profit.”
According to court documents, the spree began around 12:11 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2024. Brandishing a gun and assisted by a co-conspirator, Anderson ordered a DoorDash driver out of his Hyundai Elantra on the 4200 block of East Capitol Street NE in the District. The victim’s phone, passport, and debit card were inside the vehicle.
Around 3:31 a.m. that same night, Anderson and the co-conspirator approached the driver of a Toyota Corolla, who was waiting to pick up a passenger on the 4200 block of Dupont Terrace SE. They pointed guns at the driver and ordered him to leave his belongings behind. The co-conspirator got behind the wheel of the car and drove off.
The spree continued around a few weeks later, on Sept. 7, 2024, around 1:26 a.m., when Anderson and his co-conspirator, driving a stolen vehicle, blocked a Honda Civic to prevent it to moving as the driver was parking on the 8000 block of Eastern Avenue in Silver Spring.
The conspirator pointed a gun at the driver, ordered him to exit the Civic and get on the ground. The two took his iPhone, wallet, and the keys to his vehicle and house.
After the driver, a professional musician, pleaded to let him get his saxophone out of the car, the two refused. The driver got up and tried to grab his instrument through the rear passenger door, but one of the conspirators began to drive away in the car.
The victim was dragged about five feet down the road before he let go of the saxophone; he suffered abrasions on both arms from being dragged.
Still driving the Honda Civic, the pair approached the driver of a Toyota Prius in Hyattsville, Maryland, about an hour later. One pointed a gun at the driver; the other punched him twice. They took the car, along with the driver’s iPhone, two laptops, credit cards, and keys to the house and car, according to court documents.
Later, Anderson texted another person offering to sell the Prius and two other vehicles.
One month later, around 2:20 a.m. on Oct. 3, Anderson and the co-conspirator approached the driver of a Mercedes, who was pumping gas at a District Heights, Maryland, gas station. One of them pointed a gun and demanded the keys.
The Mercedes was used in similar crimes in Fairfax County a day later on Oct. 4, starting around 12:15 a.m.
Anderson and others traveled to the 3500 block of South Jefferson Street in Bailey’s Crossroads, near the Fairfax County-Arlington border. One person walked up to the driver’s side of a parked Dodge Charger, tried to open the locked door, then tapped on the glass of the driver’s door with a gun. The driver put the Charger in drive, stepped on the gas, and fled.
About 15 minutes afterward, at 12:35 a.m., Anderson and co-conspirators traveled to a credit union on Columbia Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads. Four people outside the credit union were held at a gunpoint, and ordered to get on the ground and empty their pockets. A Prius was stolen and taken to D.C.
Less than an hour later, Anderson and another individual traveled to a gas station on Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE in the District. Anderson pointed a gun at a driver’s face, demanded the keys to his Infiniti, and took an item from the victim’s pocket. The co-conspirator entered the driver’s seat, left, and got behind the wheel of a nearby Mercedes-Benz. Anderson drove the Infiinit, and the two traveled in the same direction.
Around 4:03 p.m. that day, a Metropolitan Police Department helicopter spotted the carjacked Infiniti moving recklessly through traffic, prosecutors said. The car collided with another vehicle at Independence Avenue SE and East Capitol Street SE, but the occupants fled the scene.
After the Infiniti got stuck in heavy traffic by RFK stadium, Anderson, who was driving, and his co-conspirator in the front passenger’s seat abandoned the car.
U.S. Capitol Police chased after the two, ultimately apprehending the co-conspirator in a nearby sports field. Anderson, who was still holding the gun, fled on foot under the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge.
Anderson got into the Anacostia River and placed the handgun to his head, prompting officers to form a barricade and call MPD negotiators and members of the Emergency Response Team to the scene. Around 6:42 p.m., Anderson dropped the weapon into the river, surrendered, and was placed under arrest.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., police departments with Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, along with the U.S. Capitol Police helped the FBI and MPD investigate the case.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 29.
Photo via Wesley Tingey/Unsplash
