Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal criminal complaint was filed on January 7, 2022, charging James Albert Borum, age 19, of Washington, D.C., for carjacking and for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The criminal complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief Robert J. Contee III of the Metropolitan Police Department; United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Borum is alleged to have participated in a series of carjackings committed in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in June 2021. As detailed in the affidavit, location monitoring data for an ankle bracelet that Borum was wearing at the time and cellular location information for Borum’s phone allegedly put him in the area of each of the three carjackings and an attempted carjacking. In addition, surveillance images from the locations of the crimes, witness and victim statements, forensic evidence, and items recovered from a search warrant executed at Borum’s residence on July 1, 2021, allegedly indicate that Borum participated in the carjackings. As detailed in the affidavit, at the time of the June carjackings, Borum was on pre-trial supervision with the condition that he be subject to location monitoring with an ankle bracelet in connection with an unrelated carjacking charge pending in D.C. Superior Court.
Specifically, the affidavit alleges that on June 4, 2021, Victim 1 was beaten and carjacked by two males, who also stole his Apple iPhone 8. Victim 1’s wallet, which contained several items, including a bank card, was inside the vehicle at the time of the carjacking. Law enforcement recovered Victim 1’s bank card and a social security card in the name of Victim 1’s spouse from Borum’s bedroom during the search on July 1, 2021.
On June 10, 2021, the affidavit alleges that two individuals committed an armed carjacking in Silver Spring, Maryland. After Victim 2 had parked his car, he began walking into a nearby apartment courtyard. Two individuals followed Victim 2 and approached him as he was in the courtyard. According to the affidavit, one of these individuals pointed a handgun at Victim 2’s forehead and stated, “I’ll kill you. Give me the keys,” while the second individual stood behind Victim 2. Victim 2 gave one of the individuals his keys and the carjackers drove away in Victim 2’s car. At the time of the carjacking, Victim 2 had $950 in his vehicle. The day after the carjacking, an unknown number texted Borum asking him what car he was in. Borum replied that he was in a “2 door Honda.” The vehicle taken from Victim 2 in the carjacking was a two-door Honda Accord.
As detailed in the affidavit, two individuals attempted to carjack Victim 3 in a parking garage in the 8700 block of Cameron Street in Silver Spring. During the attempted carjacking, Victim 3 saw her colleague pulling into the parking lot and told the two males that her colleague was coming and that she would not call the police if they left her alone. Both males fled. As they ran away, Victim 3 got into her colleague’s vehicle and as they left the garage, they saw the males running away and Victim 3 took a photo of them from behind. Victim 3 gave law enforcement a description of her attackers, including that one of the attackers had on an ankle monitor, a distinctive white hooded sweatshirt and a white facemask that was not covering his face.
According to the affidavit, surveillance footage obtained from the Rhode Island Avenue, Silver Spring, and Wheaton Metro stations both before and after the attempted carjacking shows Borum and a second individual wearing clothing that matched the descriptions Victim 3 provided and pictured in the photograph taken by Victim 3. The footage also shows Borum wearing an ankle monitor. The Silver Spring Metro station is located approximately 0.4 miles from 8700 Cameron Street.
Finally, on June 23, 2021, Victim 4 was carjacked by two men as he was entering his car. The first man allegedly approached Victim 4 from behind and held a black handgun at the left side of Victim 4’s head and repeated, “Give me the keys!” Victim 4 handed the man his keys and wallet. The man got into the driver’s seat and a second man jumped into the front passenger seat. The carjackers then fled in Victim 4’s vehicle. As alleged in the affidavit, Victim 4’s vehicle was located five days later parked on the same block as Borum’s residence and Borum’s fingerprints were identified on the car.
If convicted, Borum faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for carjacking and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison and a maximum of life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Borum is currently detained in Washington, D.C. and no court appearance in Maryland has been scheduled yet.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
This case is a result of the Regional Carjacking Prosecution Task Force, which was created to ensure the prosecution of individuals who engage in carjacking and robberies in multiple jurisdictions. Federal and state prosecutors and law enforcement are working together to ensure that investigations and prosecutions encompass all of a perpetrator’s crimes, even if they are committed in multiple jurisdictions. Members of the Regional Carjacking Prosecution Task Force are the United States Attorney’s Offices for Maryland and for the District of Columbia; the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Office; and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. This cross-border partnership between federal and state prosecutors’ offices mirrors similar collaboration among the police departments in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, Washington, D.C., and among the FBI and ATF.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Jared C. Engelking and Assistant United States Attorney Dana J. Brusca, who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/regional-carjacking-prosecution-task-force.
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