A gunman accused in one of the worst mass shootings in D.C. history had a friend rent the getaway vehicle less than an hour-and-a-half before the killing spree, a District detective testified Thursday.
The detail was one of several revealed during a preliminary hearing for 20-year-old Orlando Carter, one of the men authorities say is responsible for the slayings of four young people last month. The bloodbath was part of a cycle of revenge that was spurred by a beef over costume jewelry, police said.
On Thursday, family and friends of the young victims showed up to the courtroom to see the accused. Carter was brought in wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hands shackled to his front. Patricia Jefferies, whose granddaughter, 16-year-old Brishell Jones, was killed by a bullet to her head, had to briefly walk out of the courtroom.
“It was tough, but I had to look them in the face to see what kind of animals they are,” Jefferies said.
Detective Anthony Patterson took the stand and testified about the deadly shootings. He said witnesses told him that on March 22, Carter showed up with an AK-47 assault rifle at a party outside an apartment on Alabama Avenue SE. Carter and his brother Sanquan wrongly accused Jordan Howe of taking a piece of costume jewelry.
Patterson said one witness asked Carter to stop, “My children are in the building.” Carter told her to shut up, he said. Patterson said three weapons were used in the shooting, including the AK-47, that left Howe dead. The AK-47 would appear again seven days later.
Police said Orlando was shot twice in a retaliatory shooting on Chesapeake Street SE on March 23. One bullet struck his face and another hit his shoulder. He was treated and released that night.
The next week Orlando Carter had a friend rent a 2009 silver Chrysler Town and Country minivan from a Thrifty Dollar car rental company in Maryland, Patterson said.
An hour and 21 minutes later, the minivan was used in the drive-by shootings after memorial services for Howe, Patterson said. Bullets from both crime scenes matched the AK-47, said the detective. On Thursday, Carter was ordered to remain jailed until his trial.
