Federal deputy marshals assigned to protect Judge Sonia Sotomayor fired their duty weapons last week after an armed carjacking suspect appeared to threaten the life of one of the deputies.
At least two deputy U.S. marshals were sitting in unmarked vehicles outside Sotomayor’s residence in the Beauregard condominium complex in Washington, D.C., early last Friday morning as part of their security duties.
Suddenly, just after 1:15 a.m., a silver minivan pulled up nearby and a male suspect jumped out of the vehicle, pulled a gun, pointed it at the deputy, who identified himself only as “Deputy U.S. Marshal Black,” and demanded that Black hand over his car. Daily Mail report.
“In most U.S. cities, minors spend their summers hanging out with friends, working summer jobs, visiting family. In Washington, minors rob cars.”
a statement According to the Daily Mail, a DC Metropolitan Police officer said Black “then drew his duty weapon and fired several shots at the suspect,” at least one of which struck the suspect in the mouth.
By that time, a deputy had exited his vehicle and “fired his weapon,” though it is unclear if the bullets struck the suspect. Black then administered first aid to the suspect, who was later identified as 18-year-old Kentrell Flowers of Washington, DC.
Flowers was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but the suspected accomplice did not remain at the scene to evaluate her. Shortly after deputies fired their weapons, “a silver van fled the scene northbound on Northwest 11th Avenue,” according to a statement of facts filed by Deputy U.S. Marshal Tyler Wells in D.C. District Court.
A vehicle matching the description of the van was later spotted, but no other suspects have been identified. The .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun allegedly used in the crime was recovered at the scene. No deputies were injured during the incident.
Flowers was charged with armed carjacking, possession of an unlicensed handgun and possession of a large-capacity ammunition loading device. The case remains under investigation.
The Daily Mail reported that Metro Police released a statement about the sheriff-involved shooting within hours of the incident, but the initial statement did not mention any connection to Justice Sotomayor. The Daily Mail reported that Justice Sotomayor’s Washington DC home is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium currently worth more than $860,000.
In 2013, Sotomayor likened the area to New York’s East Village. “It has an East Village feel,” she told The New York Times. “I chose it because of the diversity. You go out and there are all kinds of people. It’s the environment I grew up in and it’s the environment I love.”
The BlazeNews reached out to a U.S. Supreme Court spokesperson for comment but did not receive a response.
K. Denise Rucker Klepp, a former Washington, D.C., elected official who once worked in the Obama administration, is outraged by the continued epidemic of youth violence in her community.
“Underage carjackings are a problem in the crime-ridden Washington, DC area,” she told The Blaze News in a statement. “In most cities across the country, minors spend their summers hanging out with friends, working summer jobs or visiting family. In DC, minors commit carjackings. As demonstrated last Friday, no one is safe from underage carjacking in the nation’s capital.”
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