WASHINGTON – Jahlil Perry, 19, of District Heights, Maryland, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for carrying out a carjacking last August of an Uber driver in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Perry pleaded guilty in February 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and carrying a pistol without a license. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jason Park. Following his prison term, Perry will be placed on 24 months of supervised probation, with the potential of an additional 24 months of incarceration if he violates the terms of that probation. Perry also must pay $1,410 in restitution to the victim.
According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 13, 2021, at approximately 9:20 p.m., Perry and a co-defendant – Cordell Green, 20, of Laurel, Maryland, pulled next to the Uber driver’s SUV and boxed him in while he was making a pick-up in the 1200 block of 16th Street NE. Green opened the rear driver-side door, pointed his gun at the driver, and ordered him out of the SUV. Perry walked around the car, opened the passenger door, and pointed his gun directly at the driver’s head. The driver stumbled out of the car, in a panic, and Perry ordered him to turn over his cellphone. Green then drove away with Perry in the passenger seat. As they rode off, Perry threw the cellphone out the window, cracking the screen. Both he and Green laughed about how scared the victim was, and Perry declared, “I feel like a god.”
A short time later, while being pursued by officers with the Metropolitan Police Department, Green crashed the SUV, totaling the vehicle. Both Green and Perry were apprehended and arrested fleeing the scene of the crash and have been in custody ever since.
Inside the SUV, police officers found two firearms, both of which were equipped with high-capacity magazines and which each were loaded with at least 12 rounds. Both weapons were “ghost guns,” unserialized and untraceable privately manufactured firearms. Additionally, officers recovered a dash camera from inside the vehicle, which had been installed by the victim and captured the offense in its entirety.
Green also pleaded guilty to charges. He is to be sentenced on Aug. 19, 2022.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Debra McPherson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Gold, who prosecuted the matter.