U.S. Capitol Police arrested two armed alleged carjackers Tuesday after an intense car chase in downtown Washington, D.C.
Maryland 19-year-old Mekhi Staton and D.C. 18-year-old George Turrentine were found with a 9mm self-assembled gun known as a “ghost gun.”
“When officers attempted to stop the stolen Mercedes, the sedan sped away. The car blew through stop signs and red lights. It even went the wrong way down a one-way street and clipped a car before it crashed into parked cars near 12th Street and Independence, SE, where the stolen car stopped,” the Capitol Police announced in a Wednesday release.
Once the vehicle was stopped, Capitol Police report that Staton reached for the ghost gun before officers intervened.
The weapon reportedly had “a high capacity feeding device” that could hold 31 rounds of ammunition.
The Biden administration has been trying to crack down on ghost guns — unserialized, untraceable weapons that can be bought in parts without a background check and privately assembled by the user.
Staton, the driver, was arrested on a variety of charges related to evading law enforcement, using a stolen vehicle, and possessing a “ghost gun” without a license and with unregistered ammunition.
Turrentine is facing just one charge related to being a passenger in the stolen vehicle.
Capitol Police say the two men are suspects in a series of armed carjackings throughout the city.
Carjackings in D.C. have nearly tripled in the past two years, according to recent reports, but a majority of these crimes are committed by juvenile offenders, which complicates prosecution.