Jashawn Robinson, Carjacking, New Jersey 2021

A brazen armed carjacking committed in South Brunswick, New Jersey, has resulted in the arrest of a New York man.

Jashawn Robinson, 21, of Queens, New York, is charged with one count of carjacking and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to court documents, on August 29, 2021, at approximately 11:15 a.m., Robinson ran up behind one of the victims, pointed a gun directly at her, and forcefully pulled her away from the vehicle. He fired one round of ammunition from his gun into the air, then pointed his gun at the second victim, who had his hands in the air and was backing away from the vehicle.

Robinson then entered the vehicle and drove away. The carjacking, including Robinson’s discharge of the firearm, was captured on video surveillance.

On September 27, 2021, law enforcement officers located the carjacked vehicle parked on a residential street in Queens, New York, and established surveillance. The officers observed Robinson approach and enter that vehicle. As law enforcement officers converged and surrounded the vehicle, Robinson repeatedly tried to get away, including hitting parked cars and almost hitting law enforcement personnel.

Robinson was removed from the vehicle and arrested. The count of carjacking carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. The count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence is punishable by a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, which must run consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed on any other charge.

Both charges each carry a potential fine of up to $250,000. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle S. Gasparian, Chief of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Jashawn Robinson, a Queens, New York, man, has been charged with carjacking and discharging a firearm in South Brunswick, New Jersey, on August 29, 2021.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for carjacking and up to life in prison for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. The case is ongoing.