The shocking and bizarre nature of the death of Pakistani-American Uber Eats driver Mohammad Anwar shook the United States on March 23. The latest news in the case is even more concerning as the two charged teenagers in the case – the 13 and 15-year-old girls – are reportedly getting a plea deal.
According to the latest reports, the prosecutor have told the judge they were expecting to give attorneys plea bargain offers in the “next day or two.” Since the teenagers are being charged as juveniles, many have expressed their disapproval with this course of action and are calling for the teenagers to be charged as adults. Their victim, 66-year-old Mohammad Anwar of Springfield, Virginia, was driving for Uber Eats when the girls attempted to steal his car and tased him.
Mohammad Anwar, 66, lost his life when the girls, armed with a stun gun, sped off in his car while the deceased was clung to the door of the driver’s side and crashed into a metal fence outside the ballpark of the Washington Nationals.
Under the deal, the prosecutors would ensure that the suspects, who belong to Southeast D.C. and Fort Washington, Maryland, will not be held until they reach the age of 21 or not be put in any jail. Further details about the deal have not been disclosed so far.
Under DC law, the 13-year-old can’t be charged as an adult — even in a murder case, according to the Washington Post. The 15-year-old suspect could be charged as an adult, but that would increase the burden of proof on prosecutors, the newspaper said in report said.
The horrific scene of the carjacking was caught on camera by a witness which caused shock across the nation, especially the Pakistani-American community. Thousnads of people raised more than 1.05 million dollars in a campaign late Anwer’s family launched on GoFundMe.com.
In juvenile court in the district, defendants who are found “responsible” — meaning guilty — may only be jailed until the age of 21, according to the outlet. The shocking incident brought to the fore some of the issues the District confronts as it experiences a troubling wave of carjackings and car thefts.
As of March 31, there had been 101 carjackings in D.C. this year, compared with 22 during the same period in 2020, the newspaper said in an editorial. “There has been a 35 percent increase in auto theft. D.C. is not alone in experiencing a spike in these crimes; neighboring Montgomery and Prince George’s counties have seen a rise, as have other cities across the country. One cause may be the pandemic: More delivery people are on the roads, providing more opportunities for crime, and closed schools have left many young people unsupervised,” it added.
The outlet said the involvement of juveniles is of “particular concern” in the District. There have been 23 arrests this year of youths, ages 12 to 17, on carjacking charges. The Post’s Peter Hermann, Justin Jouvenal and Paul Duggan reported one 14-year-old was charged in two armed carjackings and three armed robberies on a single day in January. Days after the arrest of the two girls in Mr. Anwar’s death, police announced the arrest of two 13-year-old boys in two other armed carjackings.
the post quoted police as saying that in many instances the young people simply wanted the ‘thrill of a joyride’ and the vehicles are quickly recovered. What, though, are the consequences? Police said that one of the girls charged in Mr. Anwar’s death was arrested after participating in a similar incident in January. Acting D.C. police chief Robert Contee told Fox 5 News that several carjacking suspects “are involved in multiple, multiple cases,” adding that there was a need to review “the accountability that’s in place.”
The girls’ case will be handled by a juvenile court, where confidentiality rules prevent the public from learning what might have motivated this crime. “A judge has refused even to allow disclosure of whether the girls have been detained. D.C. officials involved in juvenile issues have rightly stressed rehabilitation rather than punishment of troubled youths. But the city needs to confront the failure represented by the death of Mr. Anwar and put in place the safeguards needed to better protect the public,” the Post’s editorial concluded.