The mother of one of the D.C. area’s most wanted suspects told The Examiner she wants her son to turn himself in to authorities to show that he is not the criminal that authorities say he is.
U.S. marshals say Jermaine Woods, 26, is a ranking member of a violent Northwest D.C. street gang known as the CTU crew, or Clifton Terrace University crew.
Betty Woods, of Northwest Washington, said Jermaine Woods, the fifth of her six children, is not the type of person to join a gang. She prays day and night that he will surrender so he can tell them his side of the story.
“I love you. I just want to get this over with. It’s hurting my heart,” Woods said. “Don’t ever run, if you’ve got nothing to hide. Let’s face it as a family.”
Her last conversation with him was a phone call about six months ago, she said. She was upset because U.S. marshals had been coming by her house looking for him. Over the phone, he told his mother he was innocent.
Betty Woods said she raised her son to attend church each week. His uncle was a longtime D.C. police officer.
Jermaine Woods was one of the most popular students at Cardozo High School and had a chance to play football for Santa Monica College in California, his mother said. He would have been the first of her children to attend college.
Santa Monica coach Robert Taylor said the 6-5, 225-pound Woods had potential as a defensive end, but he never made the squad because he never got his paperwork in order.
“We called him D.C. He was a good guy. He never got into any trouble,” Taylor said. “When it didn’t work he kind of disappeared.”
Authorities say Woods is the third and final co-defendant in a major, long-running investigation.
He is wanted for obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit witness tampering. His co-defendant, Azariah Israel, 33, was captured and charged last summer with four killings, a violent robbery and an attack in which he allegedly shot at a security officer. At the time, Israel was considered by D.C. police to be one the city’s most dangerous criminals.
Anyone with information regarding Woods’ whereabouts is asked to call the U.S. Marshals Service at 800-336-0102.
