MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Markeith Jones had a clear set of goals when he came to meet with two brothers at a Wheaton shopping center on June 9th in 2021, when he threatened them with a handgun and took off with their BMW that he agreed to buy from an ad on Facebook Marketplace.
Back in June, the two brothers had agreed to meet with Jones at the Wheaton Shopping Center in front of the Costco, located at 11000 Viers Mill Road, in Wheaton, MD just before 10 p.m.
The brothers were assisting a friend by trying to help negotiate the price of the BMW. Just after 10:07 p.m. Jones came forward and began to talk with the brothers about the car they were helping try to sell.
Jones began to look at the BMW and asked several questions, including having them start the car. As the conversation continued, Jones stated that his brother was getting food and would be purchasing the vehicle when he arrived. After several minutes, one of the victims asked, "Is your brother coming?"
"He is on his way in about three minutes," Jones informed them. But about two minutes later, Jones started the armed robbery by pulling out and showing a handgun with an extended magazine that he pointed at them, one of the victims told the officers after the carjacking.
Jones said, "Get back!" and the brothers and friend who obviously feared for their lives followed Jones' orders and got back.
Jones opened the driver's side door and entered the driver's seat, which was already running. Jones drove out of the parking lot of the mall onto Veirs Mill Road towards Georgia Avenue. The brothers then called police.
A chase ensued after that, Montgomery County Police Department, (MCPD) Police Officer Ill Ben Crumlin confirmed the crime and placed a lookout with a description of the suspect and stolen BMW to all local officers in D.C. and surrounding areas for armed carjacking.
Montgomery County police found the stolen BMW and a police pursuit began which continued into D.C.
A MPD helicopter assisted and Jones eventually bailed out of the vehicle after he crashed. He was captured after a brief foot chase.
In the video above, you can see the spotlight from a surveillance video used in court which shows Jones after he crashed the vehicle. He can be seen tossing the gun into a trash can and then hopping a fence, where shortly after he was arrested.
On Wednesday, in Montgomery County Circuit court, Judge Burrell officially sentenced the defendant, Markeith Dwayne Jones, 21, of D.C. to 10 years in prison for an armed carjacking that happened back in 2021, as well as five years of supervised probation upon release.
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