A brazen daylight carjacking in D.C. ended with a man put behind bars for a range of violent crimes including shooting a woman in the knee before stealing her car, officials announced. Tavon Owens, 31, was convicted on charges of armed carjacking and assault with significant bodily injury while armed, among other firearms offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
On the afternoon of December 12, 2022, Owens yanked open the car door of the female victim, who was sitting in her parked vehicle on Newton St NW. After pointing his gun at her and demanding she exit the vehicle, she attempted to close the door in self-defense. Owens retorted by shooting her in the knee, causing her to fall, bleeding onto the sidewalk. He then commandeered her vehicle and sped away, the evidence showed.
The Metropolitan Police, including the MPD helicopter known as Falcon, responded immediately. In a pursuit that led them to the 1400 block of Bangor St SE, officers were able to track Owens down. He had jumped from the moving car, letting it crash into a tree, before hiding his gun behind a nearby house. Officers apprehended Owens shortly thereafter.
At a scheduled sentencing for May 3, Judge Heidi Pasichow will deliver Owens' fate in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and MPD Chief, Pamela A. Smith praised the joint efforts of the MPD's Fourth and Seventh District Detectives Units, patrol officers, and the Falcon helicopter crew in bringing Owens to justice.
The trial and subsequent conviction were led by Assistant United States Attorneys Anna Forgie and Daniel Bromwich, who prosecuted the case. According to the official statement, their determined work, along with the tireless efforts of the MPD made certain that Owens would be held accountable for the violent events of that December day.
