FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
November 4, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HYATTSVILLE CARJACKER EXILED TO OVER 10 YEARS IN PRISON
Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Honduran national Jose Mejia, a/k/a Efren Omar Lopez-Corrales, age 29, today to 121 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for carjacking.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Hyattsville Police Chief Douglas Holland; and Chief Kathy Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department.
According to Mejia’s plea agreement, on February 16, 2008, in the 3800 block of Hamilton Street in Hyattsville, Maryland, the owner of a 2003 Toyota Highlander was entering his vehicle with two female passengers, when Mejia entered the rear driver’s side of the vehicle, pointed a gun at the rear passenger and demanded to be driven to Baltimore. The driver told Mejia that Baltimore was too far and Mejia ordered him to drive into a residential neighborhood and stop the car. Mejia ordered the driver and passengers out of the vehicle at gunpoint, stole the driver’s jacket and the purses of the two female passengers, and drove away in the Highlander.
On February 19, 2008, a Metropolitan Police Department officer saw Mejia changing the tire of the Highlander in the 300 block of 14th Street, SW in Washington, DC. Another officer arrived to assist and noticed open beer cans on the passenger side of the car. The officer asked if they could pat Mejia down for their safety and Mejia agreed. The officers recovered a Taurus .38 Special revolver from Mejia’s waist and he was arrested. At the time of his arrest Mejia was wearing the jacket stolen from the driver, and the purses of the two female passengers were found in the back seat.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Hyattsville Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department for their work in this investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorneys George J. Hazel and Mara Zusman Greenberg, who prosecuted the case.