4 DC Men Indicted on 76 Counts for Armed Carjacking Conspiracy

WASHINGTON – Four District men have been charged with a total of 76 federal counts for their alleged involvement in an armed carjacking conspiracy that spanned from December 2022 to June 2023.

The superseding indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court today, charges Cedae Hardy, 19, Keyonte Rice, 19, Landrell Jordan III, 19, and Malik Norman, 20, with conspiring to commit a total of 33 carjackings in Washington D.C. and Maryland. The charges include conspiracy to commit carjacking, carjacking, attempted carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and more.

According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly conspired to carjack victims at gunpoint and sell the stolen vehicles for profit or use them in future carjackings. Hardy, aka “Peso,” is charged with 24 counts of carjacking, including an attempted carjacking resulting in death and an attempted carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury. Rice is charged with attempted carjacking resulting in death and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Law enforcement officials say the defendants are responsible for a total of 33 carjackings, including one that resulted in a homicide in Hyattsville, Maryland. The suspect vehicle allegedly used in this homicide was set on fire a few hours after the incident.

The indictment was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the Washington Field Office, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department. All four defendants are in custody and face a range of charges, including conspiracy to commit carjacking, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Attempted carjacking resulting in death carries a statutory maximum of life in prison. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Spak and Michelle P. Pio. The FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Prince George’s County Police Department.