MARYLAND, USA — A third person has been sentenced in connection to an armed carjacking that led to a police chase down I-270 in October of last year.
In the Montgomery County Circuit Court, Judge Karla Smith sentenced 19-year-old Zyier Brown, to 13 years in prison and five years of probation on Wednesday.
Back on September 28, Judge Smith sentenced a second defender, Victor Noel, to 11 years in prison with five years probation. Both defendants pleaded guilty to two armed carjackings with a handgun.
The first carjacking happened on October 25, 2022. Noel and Brown carjacked an Uber driver on Shady Grove Road, in Rockville. Then a few weeks later in Gaithersburg, the two carjacked a Toyota Corolla along Guildberry Court.
The second carjacking is what led to the high-speed chase down I-270 where Brown totaled the victim’s car in a car accident.
Brown, who was 18 years old at the time of the crimes, not only participated, he purchased and built the ‘ghost gun’ that was used during the armed carjackings. Brown was also the driver during the high-speed chase that ended with him flipping and totaling the stolen car.
Noel, who was 16 years old at the time was charged and convicted as an adult.
Due to the severity of the crime and the two putting a multitude of people’s lives in danger, Judge Smith sentenced both Brown and Noel to the Patuxent Youthful Offenders program to serve their sentences.
A third co-defendant, 19-year-old Jayla Newman, was also sentenced for being present at the time of the crime. During Newman’s sentencing Judge Smith took into account that while she was there, Newman did not physically harm or threaten the victim and she was not armed. As a result, she was sentenced to a little over a year with three years probation.