Second Person Charged in Armed Carjacking in Northeast DC

            WASHINGTON – Maurice Edwards, 20, of Washington, D.C., was charged yesterday with armed carjacking in District of Columbia Superior Court, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Edwards is detained pending his June 14, 2024, preliminary hearing.

            According to the government’s evidence, on March 11, 2024, Edwards drove a car through a stop sign at 48^th Pl and Lee St, NE, and struck the victim’s vehicle. Edwards and his accomplice, Auzsa Beatty, got out of their car and yelled at the victim. When the victim got out of his car, Edwards pulled a gun on him, and Beatty got into the victim’s car. Beatty drove off in the victim’s vehicle, and Edwards drove off in the vehicle he had been driving. The victim immediately reported the offense. MPD Officers later found the victim’s car parked near Beatty’s home.

            Beatty, 28, of Washington, D.C., was previously charged with carjacking, and has been detained pending her August 12, 2024, trial before the Honorable Andrea Hertzfeld. Edwards’ case will be joined with Beatty’s.

            This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Cocuzza.

            Charges are merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.