A teenage suspect was shot by US Marshals on Friday after allegedly attempting to carjack Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s federal bodyguards outside her home, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Metropolitan Police Department confirmed it was investigating a shooting that took place in the Northwest Washington, DC. where two marshals were on-duty working ‘a protective detail’ in the early hours of July 5.
A Deputy US Marshal was sitting in his car outside the top judge’s condominium at 1:15am when 18-year-old Kentrell Flowers approached, pointed a handgun at him, and tried to steal his vehicle, according to a police report obtained by DailyMail.com.
Local police issued a press release about the incident last week, but did not mention its connection to Sotomayor.
‘The suspect exited a vehicle, approached one of the Marshals, and pointed a handgun at him in an apparent attempt to carjack him,’ a DC Metropolitan Police Department press release said.
‘The Marshal drew his service weapon and fired several shots at the suspect. A second Marshal from another vehicle also responded and fired his service weapon.
US Deputy Marshals were on-duty working a protective detail near Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s DC home on Friday when the incident unfolded, police said
‘The suspect was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. No law enforcement officers were injured.’
Flowers, 18, was arrested and charged with armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
A police report obtained by DailyMail.com revealed the location of the incident at a residential street in North West DC where Sotomayor owns a condo, and the US Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed to DailyMail.com that the officers involved were part of her protection team.
The report said police recovered the black and silver Smith & Wesson 40VE handgun Flowers allegedly used for the attempted carjacking.
The Metro PD report named the first Marshal as ‘Deputy US Marshal Black’, and did not name the second officer.
‘The Deputy U.S. Marshals involved in the shooting incident were part of the unit protecting the residences of U.S. Supreme Court justices,’ a USMS spokeswoman told DailyMail.com.
‘As a general practice, the U.S. Marshals don’t discuss specifics of protective details.
Flowers was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and was arrested and charged with armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device
‘USMS does not disclose the names of personnel involved in shooting incidents until all investigations are complete.’
A statement of facts filed in DC district court by Deputy US Marshal Tyler Wells on Friday said that Flowers pulled up at 1:17am in a silver mini-van, got out and pointed his gun through the driver’s side window of the federal officer’s unmarked car parked on 11th Street.
‘The Complainant pulled out his department issued firearm and fired approximately four times at Defendant Flowers through the window, striking Flowers in the mouth,’ the July 5 filing said.
‘The Complainant provided first aid to Flowers, while the silver van fled the scene traveling northbound on 11th Street Northwest.’
The report said police recovered the black and silver Smith & Wesson 40VE handgun Flowers allegedly used for the attempted carjacking
Flowers was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and was arrested and charged with armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device
Local police issued a press release about the incident last week, but did not mention its connection to Sotomayor
The Marshals found a matching silver 2017 Toyota Sienna mini-van in a database of jacked vehicles, but have not yet recovered the car or driver.
The shooting is under investigation by the PD’s Internal Affairs Division Force Investigations Team, and the department said the case ‘will be independently reviewed by the United States Attorney’s Office.’
It is not the first high-profile attempted car-related theft in DC in recent months.
On November 12, 2023 Secret Service agents stationed outside the home of President Joe Biden’s granddaughter Naomi opened fire on two teens who were fleeing after allegedly stealing over $1,000 of gear from a black Ford Expedition ‘used for members of the first family’, according to court documents.
Robert Kemp, 19, was arrested on February 7. A 14-year-old male accomplice was arrested later that month after a separate alleged armed carjacking.
An affidavit from a Secret Service agent says the boy was wearing a court-ordered GPS ankle bracelet during the theft from Naomi’s car.
Last October, Congressman Henry Cuellar was carjacked at gunpoint near his DC home by three armed robbers in knit caps and ski masks.
Texas Republican Cuellar was unharmed. Law enforcement eventually retrieved the car.
His phone and computer were also recovered from his white Toyota crossover – as well as his dinner he had bought from Whole Foods.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts, along with Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh stand in the House of Representatives ahead of US President Joe Biden’s third State of the Union address in March
‘What really got me upset was they took my sushi,’ the congressman told CNN at the time.
DC police reported more than 900 carjackings and over 6,000 stolen vehicles in 2023, a sharp rise on the previous year.
The DC council member for the district where Sotomayor’s condo is located, Brianne Nadeau, is facing a recall motion for supporting the Defund the Police movement.
A group campaigning for her recall said Nadeau voted for budgets that ‘defunded the police by $15million’ and ‘passed legislation to reduce penalties on violent crime, illegal gun crimes, and carjackings’.
On their website, the Committee to Recall Brianne Nadeau points to DC crime data showing a 100% increase in homicides, 56% increase in assaults with a dangerous weapon, and 48% increase in motor vehicle theft between 2022 and 2023.
Sotomayor bought her DC two-bed condo in 2012 for $660,000, now estimates it to be worth $861,480.
The New York Times described the area as ‘scruffy’ in a 2013 story about her purchase, but Sotomayor said it reminded her of her New York East Village roots.
‘It has a touch of the East Village in it,’ she told the paper. ‘I picked it because it’s mixed. I walk out and I see all kinds of people, which is the environment I grew up in and the environment I love.’