A 19-year-old gang member charged in the deadly shooting near the Caribbean Festival had been transferred out of state for his own safety earlier this year after a previous attempt on his life that left a 17-year-old high school girl dead, authorities said. Authorities said Terry Jiminez returned to the District and stalked his rivals at the festival near Howard University. Now another innocent bystander is dead.
Jiminez was charged with second degree murder in the slaying of 43-year-old Robert Foster Jr., one of three innocent people hit in the hail of gunfire Saturday.
“They were caught in the crossfire between two rival gangs,” said D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, “which is why we go so aggressively after gangs because they will shoot indiscriminately, with crowds of people around, including children, without any regard for anybody’s safety.”
According to charging documents, police have video of Jiminez and two others as they followed three other men into the 700 block of Gresham Place NW.
Jiminez, who is affiliated with the Hobart Stars gang, pulled a .45-caliber pistol from his waistband and started firing across the street at the members of the Clifton Terrace University crew.
Two of the rivals pulled out their own weapons and fired back, according to a police affidavit.
Crowds were “virtually trapped” between the gunfire, the document said. One of the bullets fatally struck Foster in the lower back and spinal cord, police said. Another man was shot in the leg and stomach, and a woman was also shot in the back.
Jiminez was struck in his right elbow, and his weapon was recovered at the scene, police said. Police found him and he was taken to a hospital where he was treated and arrested.
Jiminez was not supposed to have been in the District. A judge ordered him to leave the District after bullets that were intended for him struck and killed his friend, Lucki Pannell, instead.
He had been under the supervision of the District’s Court Services and Offender Supervision for a charge of receiving stolen property. In consultation with law enforcement partners, CSOSA transferred Jiminez to upstate New York to live with a relative.
“There were fears for his own safety,” CSOSA spokesman Len Sipes said. The agency continued to supervise Jiminez by contacting him and his family through calls and emails, Sipes said.
On June 20, CSOSA was notified that Jiminez was back in D.C., and tried on multiple occasions to contact him and his family.
Five days later, Jiminez bumped into members of the rival gang and opened fire, police said.
D.C. Councilman Jim Graham wants to know how Jiminez was able to return to the District.
“It’s a great human tragedy to lose the lives of two innocent people because of one person being a magnet for violence,” Graham said.
