An 18-year-old man on Thursday pleaded not guilty to an attempted carjacking after targeting an unmarked government vehicle containing two members of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s security detail.
Kentrell Flowers was arrested earlier this month after approaching the driver-side door of the unmarked car, which was parked on Sotomayor’s block in Washington, D.C., and pointing a firearm at the window.
One of two deputy U.S. Marshals in the car shot Flowers about four times, hitting him in the mouth, before then giving him first aid, according to court documents. He was transported to the hospital for treatment and placed under arrest.
Flowers pleaded not guilty to all six counts he faces, including assaulting law enforcement with a dangerous weapon and carrying a pistol without a license. He appeared in court Thursday, wearing an orange jumpsuit and blue surgical mask over his mouth, though his lawyer spoke on his behalf.
Sotomayor is not mentioned in Flowers’s court filings and there’s no indication the attack targeted her. Two other unknown suspects were involved in the carjacking attempt, one of whom fled the scene in a stolen minivan and a second who fled on foot, prosecutors said.
In court filings, Flowers’s lawyer stressed that the teen did not know the vehicle he targeted was government property and has no prior criminal history. He has said Flowers is only a few credits away from graduating high school and has been unable to see his first child, who was born shortly after the incident.
Flowers’s family has also attended his court proceedings to show support.
“As a result of the alleged conduct, Mr. Flowers was shot in the mouth and almost died. There could not be a more shocking experience for an 18 year old,” Maria Jacob, the public defender representing Flowers, contended in court filings. “This experience will undoubtedly deter him from violating any conditions of release or repeating any alleged conduct.”
Prosecutors, however, said that the “sheer nature” of Flowers’s conduct, aided by two other unknown suspects, and his possession of a loaded firearm required his detention pending trial.
“Simply stated, there are no conditions or combination of conditions which would ensure the safety of our community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Cole wrote in court papers.
Previously, U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya granted prosecutors’ request to detain Flowers ahead of trial, finding that he posed a danger to the community.
At a hearing last week, Upadhyaya noted she had reviewed “countless cases” of armed carjackings in the nation’s capital, calling it a “growing, serious problem.”
There have been several high-profile carjackings in the nation’s capital in the last year, with victims including U.S. Rep Henry Cuellar of Texas (D) and a United Arab Emirates diplomat. The attempted break-in of an unmarked Secret Service vehicle last year also caused agents protecting President Biden’s granddaughter to open fire, though no one was struck.
“This one, I suspect, will stand out to me for a long time,” Upadhyaya said at the hearing.
Zach Schonfeld contributed.