A 13-year-old girl pleaded guilty to murder in the death of an UberEats driver she and another girl attempted to carjack near Nationals Park in late March.
The girl pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in juvenile court:
The girl, 13, appeared in a virtual court hearing where she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the March 23 death of Mohammad Anwar, 66, a Pakistani immigrant and grandfather, according to a Washington, D.C. court official. Other charges against her – including armed carjacking – will be dropped. Under the plea deal, she will be released from prison when she turns 21 if the maximum sentence is imposed.She is scheduled to be sentenced July 6. Another girl, 15, involved in the carjacking pleaded guilty to a murder charge in May.
The D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services has custody of the girls.
The cellphone footage is disturbing. It shows Anwar lying alone on the sidewalk. One girl only has concern for her cellphone in the car:
Prosecutor Baki Baruwa said Anwar had agreed to give the girls a ride in his Honda Accord, but when they got to a side street near the ballpark, the girls tried to take his car and his belongings.Baruwa said the youngest girl stayed in the passenger seat, while the 15-year-old climbed into the driver’s seat. He said Anwar pleaded with passersby for help and asked them to call the police, but the older girl lied to the witnesses, telling them it was her mother’s car.Anwar blocked the older girl from closing the driver’s door, but was half-in and half-out of the car as one of the girls screamed, “Go, go, go!” and jammed it into gear, according to Baruwa.A gruesome video shows the Accord racing down Van Street SE, with the driver’s door flapping open and Anwar hanging on. The door slams into a tree and crushes him, then continues speeding down the street until the older girl makes a sharp right on N St. SE and the car flips over, throwing Anwar to the pavement and killing him.Both girls jump out of the car and try to escape, but are stopped by witnesses.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz asked the girl to confirm the details:
“All true?” the judge asked the girl in the hearing.”Yes,” she responded.Then the judge asked her to raise her right hand.”How do you plead?” the judge asked.”Guilty,” she said in a calm, clear voice.
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