24 April – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – 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 defendant, Kennedy Terrell Walker, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan, in Miami, Florida, to a term of life imprisonment, plus seven (7) years, for carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. The sentence was mandatory under the federal “three strikes” law, Title 18, United States Code, Section 3559(c).
The defendant was convicted at trial on December 13, 2004, on all four (4) counts charged against him in the Indictment. Specifically, the jury convicted the defendant of two (2) counts of carjacking, one (1) count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one (1) count of possessing a firearm having been previously convicted of a felony.
According to statements made in court and the Indictment, on February 9, 2004, Walker and his co-defendant (who was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial, pursuant to a court order entered on July 30, 2004) car jacked two (2) 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 (1) of the stolen vehicles approximately an hour and a half later, 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.
Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and 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 .
