The first victim recalled that she had just moved to the District last spring and was walking home from Children’s National Hospital, where she works, when she saw a group of girls. She said the teenagers rushed up to her, pushed her to the ground, stole her purse and ripped off her jacket.
Washington, D.C
Teen girl arrested in D.C. after carjacking is sentenced for robberies
A second woman, who was robbed around the same time, said she has post-traumatic stress disorder after a group of teen girls knocked her to the ground and stole her purse. She now carries pepper spray and an electronic stun device.
“I saw a group of girls,” she said in D.C. Superior Court. “I never thought I should have to be concerned about a group of girls.”
The women spoke at a sentencing hearing Thursday for a 15-year-old who received a three-year term in juvenile detention after pleading guilty to five robberies, car theft and assault. The girl was arrested in October in connection with a carjacking that resulted in the car-crash death of another teen girl.
Another woman, also a robbery victim, told a judge that she had surgery on her jaw as a result of being assaulted. She said her purse was stolen, and she later moved to another part of D.C. to avoid having panic attacks while walking or driving through the neighborhood where she was attacked. A fourth woman, a New York resident, testified that she was attending a work conference in D.C. and was leaving a training session when a group of girls knocked her to the ground and stole her purse.
“I am from New York and I always thought I was pretty guarded and cautious before,” she told Judge Andrea L. Hertzfeld, who ordered the 15-year-old to be held by the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services until her 18th birthday.
Police said the girls were part of a group that carried out several robberies in 2023 that culminated with the car crash that resulted in the death of Kendra Outlaw, 16. Authorities say Outlaw was driving a carjacked Honda Pilot at a high speed when it struck a utility pole at Brentwood Road and Bryant Street NE shortly before 2 a.m. on Oct. 26. The girl who was sentenced Thursday had been a passenger in a carjacked Toyota Camry that was speeding with the Honda.
The Washington Post, which generally does not identify people charged with crimes as juveniles, was allowed to watch the sentencing on the condition that the name of the teen not be disclosed.
Prosecutors said that before the deadly carjacking, the 15-year-old girl was also involved in five street robberies in April and September in which female victims were assaulted by a group of girls who stole purses and other items. She pleaded guilty in those cases. Prosecutors from the D.C. attorney general’s office allowed the teen to plead guilty to a lesser offense of unauthorized use of a vehicle in connection with the Oct. 26 carjacking.
The deadly crash and subsequent arrest became the focus of a rift among D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), judges in Superior Court and youth officials in the city. After the incident, Bowser criticized judges and youth officials, erroneously saying publicly that the teen had six or seven previous arrests for carjacking so she should have been in secure detention and not allowed to return home. That description of the girl’s background was untrue.
At the hearing, the soft-spoken teen read a letter of apology to the victims, her parents and Judge Hertzfeld, who had been a focus of the mayor’s ire.
“I am sorry for what I did to you all. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me,” the girl said. “I was influenced by people I was hanging with.”
The teen later told the judge she wants to attend college and eventually law school and become a defense attorney.
Her lawyer Khadijah Ali said the girl was “influenced” by older teens. She asked the judge to place her client on probation so she could obtain psychological and emotional counseling from various agencies that the teen’s parents had identified.
Ali also said her client was still grieving Outlaw’s death.
“She blames herself for what happened, even though they were in different vehicles. She feels that what happened was her fault,” Ali said. “She’s a sweet girl who was influenced by others and followed other people, which is what many teenagers do.”
Prosecutors argued that the teen should be incarcerated while also undergoing counseling.
“They chose harm over community,” prosecutor Julia Rupert said. “This array of assaultive conduct on residents and victims is concerning.”
Hertzfeld advised the teen that if Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services officials determine that she has been rehabilitated before her 18th birthday, the agency could order her released.
“This case is a tragedy all around,” Hertzfeld said before ordering the teen held in secure detention and to undergo psychological and emotional counseling. “There is a lot of work that has to be done. But nobody is only the mistake they made. … I have faith in you.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAW) – It’s a day for gathering and remembering victims of internet crimes.
The parents of Bradyn Bohn, the D.C. Everest teen who was a victim of sextortion, are in Washington, D.C. for the event.
A sign with Bradyn’s picture, his name, ‘forever 15′– along with too many more– sit outside the capitol.
It’s the inaugural ‘Social Media Victims Remembrance Day.’ A number of lawmakers were on hand. Bradyn’s mom, Brittney Bird, says Congress needs to choose families over big tech.
“My first thought is it’s absolutely heartbreaking,” she said. ”None of us should be here. These groups have been doing this for coming up on four years now. And there hasn’t been a change. If four years ago there would have been a change, my son would be here. Countless children would still be here. It’s heartbreaking, but at the same time there’s strength in numbers. So there’s that strength. And it gives us hope, you know, that things will change and that we’ve got each other.”
Bradyn died by suicide in March 2025 after a sextortion scheme. The efforts of his parents helped lead to the creation of Bradyn’s Law, signed into law last December. It established sextortion as a new crime, and imposes severe penalties on perpetrators.
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Copyright 2026 WSAW. All rights reserved.
Washington, D.C
First Nebraska civics bee champion crowned, will head to Washington, D.C. for national competition
The state competition, which was put on by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, had three rounds. The first two rounds included 20 multiple choice questions about various historical documents, court cases and civics concepts.
In the final round, the top five students gave short pitches about the essays they submitted on improving a problem in their community. Bernal wrote about the Tyson Plant closure after she visited Lexington in December.
“Things were really starting to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, the Tyson plant is actually closing,’” Bernal said. “Around two weeks later, during the first day back from winter break, my social studies teacher said we’re going to be writing an essay about a problem we see in our community. I thought, ‘Wow, this is something really positive I could use my voice for.’”
In her essay, Bernal said she wanted to bring awareness to the closure and host job fairs for those impacted. Other topics included student mental health, impacts of flooding and the childcare crisis.
Tara Lea, executive vice president of partnerships and programs for the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said more than 500 students submitted essays across Nebraska, making the state fifth in the nation for participation and first per capita.
“We had no idea what to expect when we signed up to do this,” Lea said. “We were just excited all 50 states were doing it. We were proud to be one of them, but Nebraska showed up.”
Washington, D.C
Now streaming: ’51st State’ documentary on a young activist’s fight for DC statehood – WTOP News
One of D.C.’s most personal statehood activism stories can now be seen by a larger audience, two years after its premiere.
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WETA+ adds ’51st State’ documentary as DC voters choose new leadership
One of D.C.’s most personal statehood activism stories can now be seen by a larger audience, two years after its premiere.
WETA has added the documentary “51st State” to its District Docs collection, now streaming on WETA+. The station has also posted the documentary on its YouTube channel.
Voters in last week’s D.C. Democratic primary selected nominees for mayor and delegate who have vowed to keep up the fight for the District’s autonomy, so it’s a fitting time to revisit the film, which follows a young Washingtonian whose life has been shaped by the fight for representation.
D.C. statehood movement is personal for Jamal Holtz. It started long before he became the face of a movement or the subject of a documentary. It began at home.
“When my mom talked about having lack of access to health insurance and the impacts on me and going to school, that was all rooted in our lack of being a state,” Holtz said. “The fact that we didn’t have a vote on the matter of the Affordable Care Act was to show people that, like, people in D.C. actually experience real issues and real problems.”
“51st State” director Hannah Rosenzweig first met Holtz at a 2021 event in Brooklyn organized by 51 for 51 and New Yorkers for D.C. Statehood. The group pushes for D.C. to become a state with 51 votes in the Senate instead of the 60‑vote filibuster threshold.
Rosenzweig said one part of the movement immediately caught her attention.
“I just love the framing of young native Washingtonians,” Rosenzweig said. “Really looking at them as part of a voting rights and civil rights movement.”
She said Holtz stood out from the beginning, saying she knew “he was going places.”
“He’s a leader,” Rosenzweig said. “He’s charismatic — people listen when he talks.”
Filming began in June 2021, when Holtz was 23.
Holtz, who is now 28, said: “You had me when I had braces, to me with facial hair and no braces.”
Serving the community isn’t new to Holtz. He was a member of the Marion Barry Youth Leadership Institute, the city’s long‑running program that trains D.C. teenagers in leadership and public service.
The documentary, which premiered June 16, 2024, at the DC/DOX Film Festival, follows the push for statehood through the House’s passage of H.R. 51, the advocacy campaign in the Senate and the everyday life of a fourth‑generation Washingtonian.
“It talks about D.C. statehood through a different lens,” Holtz said. “What does lack of statehood look like in people’s day‑to‑day lives?”
Rosenzweig said she wanted viewers to see the real Washington — the neighborhoods and the families who rarely appear in national conversations about the city.
“There’s a culture of D.C. that most people don’t know about,” she said. “I love that. In fact, I wanted to move there.”
Holtz spoke to WTOP outside the Wilson Building by the Marion Barry statue, and was asked where he saw himself in 20 years.
“I’ll be standing on the grounds of the 51st state,” Holtz said. “Helping to govern our state and helping live up to the American dream and democracy that the people of D.C. want.”
When the question turned to which office sounded more fun, governor or senator, Holtz smiled and said, “The title will figure it out.”
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