WASHINGTON — A D.C. man pleaded guilty to federal charges Friday in connection to a fatal carjacking spree that claimed the life of a longtime Metrobus operator and ended in a shootout with police.
Daeyon Ross, 23, appeared before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to enter his plea of guilty to one count each of carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. He was scheduled to be sentenced on March 12, when he’ll face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life behind bars on the firearm charge.
Ross was indicted on a slew of charges in D.C. and Maryland following a July 2023 carjacking spree that spanned from Capitol Heights, Maryland, to Northeast D.C. The spree began near the intersection of Addison Road South and Rolling Ridge Drive in Capitol Heights, where Ross allegedly carjacked two women before crashing their car.
Ross then allegedly attempted to carjack 56-year-old Kurt Modeste, of La Plata, who was sitting in his vehicle in the drive-thru of a nearby McDonald’s. During the attempting carjacking, Modeste, a 20-year veteran of Metrobus, was shot and killed. Ross then allegedly carjacked another woman in the drive-thru line and killed two dogs inside her car before driving her vehicle, a Toyota Scion, westbound on Central Avenue.
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The charges Ross pleaded guilty to Friday begin once he crossed the boundary into the District of Columbia with Maryland police in pursuit. On Sheriff Road NE, Ross crashed into two vehicles near the intersection with 52nd Street NE and hopped out of his stolen vehicle holding a Glock 19 pistol with an extended magazine.
Ross then approached the passenger door of a GMC Terrain he’d crashed into and ordered the three women inside to exit the vehicle at gunpoint. Once they’d fled, Ross took off in the vehicle before crashing into a Capitol Heights police cruiser.
The statement of facts Ross agreed to as part of his plea deal describes the shootout with police that followed.
“Mr. Ross, while seated in the driver’s seat of the GMC Terrain, fired at least two rounds at Officer T.J. through the passenger seat window,” the statement reads. “Officer T.J. exited his cruiser and ran to the rear of it to take cover. Mr. Ross, still seated in the driver’s seat of the GMC Terrain, then opened the driver’s side door and fired at least two rounds at Corporal J.S., who had exited his cruiser at that time.”
Officers then returned fire on Ross, who eventually exited the vehicle and surrendered.
As part of the plea deal, federal prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges of assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault on a police officer while armed, as well as a felon in possession charge. Ross still faces 28 separate charges in Prince George’s County, including a charge of murder for the death of Modeste, multiple counts of assault and carjacking and three counts of aggravated animal cruelty.
Ross’ guilty plea Friday isn’t his first conviction for an armed crime of violence. He previously served five years in a juvenile rehabilitation facility after he was convicted of a 2017 armed robbery on the Metro. D.C. Superior Court records show he was arrested again in August 2022 on multiple charges for allegedly carrying a handgun despite his felony conviction. Those charges were dropped, however, along with dozens of other firearm cases amid an investigation into the 7th District’s Crime Suppression Unit. The unit has since been disbanded, and multiple officers placed on non-contact status or desk duty.
Ross has been held without bond since his arrest last year.