22 December 2004 – LAWFUEL – Best for law news – Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Julie Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, announced today that a federal jury, on December 13, 2004, returned a guilty verdict against defendant, Kennedy Terrell Walker, on charges of carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. The case was tried in Miami, Florida, before United States District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan.
The defendant was convicted on all four (4) counts charged against him in the Indictment. Specifically, the jury convicted the defendant of two (2) counts of carjacking, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119; one (1) count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c); and one (1) count of possessing a firearm having been previously convicted of a felony, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g).
On February 9, 2004, Walker and his co-defendant, who was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial, car jacked two cars simultaneously in a parking lot in Hialeah, Florida. Walker held a gun to the temple of one of the drivers and repeatedly threatened to shoot him. When police spotted Walker and the co-defendant in one of the stolen vehicles approximately an hour and a half after the alleged crime, a high-speed chase ensued during which both defendants threw items from the car, including the wallet of one of the carjacking victims and the keys of the other carjacking victim. The defendants were taken into custody, and a search produced two loaded handguns in the car and additional ammunition in Walker’s pants pocket.
Walker faces a statutory mandatory term of life in prison. His sentencing hearing is set for February 25, 2004.
Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as the Miami-Dade Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nathaniel Mendell and Ricardo del Toro.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls . Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on .
