DC Man who carjacked driver or Lyft he ordered sentenced to prison

WASHINGTON — A D.C. man has been sentenced to a decade in prison, with two years suspended, for two armed carjackings last year. 

According to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, 20-year-old Daron Cottingham was sentenced in connection to crimes he committed in D.C. in January 2022. 

Court documents show on Jan. 18, 2022, Cottingham walked up to a person cleaning a BMW on 34th Street in Northeast. Cottingham used a gun to demand the car keys from the victim before hitting the victim in the nose with the weapon. Cottingham took the keys and the victim's phone before driving away in the stolen BMW. 

Days later, Cottingham ordered a Lyft ride to the area of I-295 and the 11th Street Bridge. When the rideshare driver arrived, Cottingham took out a gun and aimed it at the driver's head, demanding they get out of the car. The victim ran away and Cottingham drove off in the Lyft vehicle.

Cottingham then led the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on a chase, including the department's helicopter. He reportedly drove the stolen Lyft vehicle to the 2600 block of Birney Place SE, where he ditched it while it was still moving. 

Cottingham then ran to an apartment building and hid his gun. A short time later, officers arrived and arrest Cottingham. 

At the time of his arrest, police say Cottingham had bank and identification cards belonging to the Lyft driver. Additionally, officers found a ring of car keys, one of which was a BMW key that matched the BMW taken day prior. 

In addition to his prison sentence, Cottingham was ordered two years of supervised probation and 90 hours of community service. The sentence was rendered as part of the Youth Rehabilitation Act.