DC teen accused of selling carjacked cars to undercover officers is indicted
A teenager from D.C. has been indicted by a grand jury in connection with six carjackings in the District and Maryland, including one instance where a driver was shot multiple times. He is also accused of trying to sell the stolen vehicles to undercover police officers.
According to the indictment, Cedae Hardy, 18, stole several cars at gunpoint between April 5 and May 17 of this year. Hardy would then drive the vehicles to a Northeast D.C. garage where another man helped him sell the cars.
The first carjacking, according to prosecutors, happened in Northwest D.C., when Hardy pointed a gun at a person’s chest and demanded their cellphone and keys. He then allegedly drove off in the victim’s 2017 BMW 7 sedan.
He drove the car to the garage where his partner let him in, then sold the car unknowingly for $1,500 to two undercover D.C. police officers.
Using the same approach, Hardy is accused of carjacking a Mercedes-Benz SL550 on April 8 and a Dodge Challenger the next day in Hyattsville, Maryland. Those cars would then be sold again, unknowingly, to an undercover D.C. officer for $1,200 and $1,500.
On April 18, Hardy shot a car owner in Hyattsville in the abdomen and forearm after, police said, that driver didn’t understand the demands being yelled at them. Hardy did not steal that car and then fled toward D.C.
On April 23, prosecutors said he struck again, stealing a Toyota Highlander at gunpoint in Northeast D.C., selling it alongside another carjacked vehicle from the Florida Avenue garage to two undercover officers on April 27 for $3,800.
Hardy is also accused of carjacking an Audi Q3 on May 26 and a BMW X3 on June 14. Both cars were taken in D.C.
Police said text messages between Hardy, his partner and a second co-conspirator helped link him to the crimes. Those text messages and money transaction apps allegedly showed the money changing hands and Hardy splitting the proceeds.
Hardy was indicted on 18 counts, including carjacking and related gun charges, among a list of other charges.
An arraignment date for Hardy on the charges has not been announced.