Police identify 19-year-old suspect in two fatal traffic crashes in Washington DC

WASHINGTON – Police have identified the suspect arrested in connection with a double fatal crash in southeast DC

Demetris Koger, 19, of Southeast DC was arrested Tuesday and charged with fugitive from justice.

The car involved, a silver BMW sedan, was a vehicle wanted in connection with several robberies and was the subject of an active pursuit by the United States Park Police and the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

Justin Mulcahy, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, said there have been at least 40 cases of jugging in recent months, including at least a dozen in Anne Arundel County alone.

In “jugging,” unsuspecting victims are targeted after they have withdrawn money from a bank or ATM.

“You have to remember, this is really brazen. These are citizen robberies that are taking place in daylight under surveillance in banks, often in the afternoon. These vehicles are sitting there, lurking in parking lots, looking for potential victims,” ​​Mulcahy said. “Yesterday, another unfortunate ending. But we’ve had victims all over the region who have been terrorized by suspects who have done this over the last few months. We’re continuing to investigate, we’re continuing to work with our regional partners to get all of these crimes under control.”

Mulcahy said it was unclear whether the car was involved in a theft or robbery on the day of the accident, but said authorities had been closely monitoring the area for weeks in response to the incidents.

Anne Arundel County police are investigating the robberies, while DC police are leading the accident investigation.

In an updated press release Wednesday, Washington, DC police confirmed that the car was traveling at a high rate of speed in the area of ​​4100 Southern Avenue, SE shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The car went out of control, veered to the right and hit the west curb. It hit a tree with such force that the car broke in half and the front section spun until it came to a stop in front of an iron fence.

According to police, Koger was thrown from the car on Tuesday and tried to flee the scene of the accident, but was arrested by police.

Two passengers were rescued from the car and pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

One of the deceased is 17-year-old Dashawn Harris from Southeast, DC

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington DC is still working with MPD investigators to identify the second deceased.

According to police, the BMW was identified on Wednesday based on its chassis number as a vehicle used in an armed robbery.

Anyone with knowledge of this incident should call police at 202-727-9099.