The night violence came to 11th Street NW
According to the criminal complaint, the confrontation unfolded at 1:17 a.m. on July 5, 2024, in the 2100 block of 11th Street NW—steps from Justice Sotomayor’s residence. Flowers allegedly leapt from the stolen minivan, jammed his pistol through the deputy’s window, and ordered him out. The marshal instead drew his service handgun and fired four times, hitting Flowers in the mouth. A second marshal also fired but missed.
Bleeding heavily, Flowers collapsed; the same deputies he threatened applied first aid while calling paramedics. Recovered at the scene: a Smith & Wesson M&P 40 handgun with eight rounds in its 13‑round magazine—enough, prosecutors argued, for “an execution‑style robbery” had the marshal not reacted.
Rather than indict Flowers for carjacking alone, federal prosecutors charged § 924(c): using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. That statute mandates a minimum seven‑year sentence; plea negotiations locked the term at ten. Had Flowers forced the marshals from the vehicle—or fired a round—he could have faced 15 years to life.
Judge Leon emphasized those consequences while urging the teen to “use every educational and vocational program the Bureau of Prisons offers” to turn the decade into something other than lost time.
