PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — Police said two men who were part of a drug deal arranged with an undercover detective face charges in the death of a man who was with them after an exchange of gunfire with police.
The Prince William County Police Department released a preliminary narrative Wednesday related to the incident that played out in Woodbridge on Sept. 1.
In the narrative, the department said that an undercover detective with the Manassas Police Department who was assigned to a multi-agency drug task force made arrangements through a confidential informant to buy a large amount of suspected fentanyl pills and at least one gun.
Three men met the detective in the 14700 block of Fox Glove Ct. Police said those men were:
- Jaiden Malik Carter, 19
- Shane Dareon Pollard, 30
- Jalil Michael Turner, 18
Investigators said Turner got out of the vehicle in which the three men arrived and got into the detective’s vehicle. After a brief exchange, Turner got out of the detective’s vehicle, then came back with Carter. Turner got into the front passenger seat. Carter got into the back seat.
The investigators said, at one point, Turner pulled out a gun and demanded money and more from the detective. Pollard was in the driver’s seat of the other vehicle and repositions it behind the detective’s vehicle.
Carter supposedly told the detective to open the trunk to look for money that was to be used in the arranged drug buy. Then, Carter and Turner took money and property from the detective and got back into the vehicle in which they arrived with Pollard.
Police said the three men tried to leave as additional detectives moved in to arrest them. Police said they found two guns, including one that was modified with an extended magazine illegally, at the scene.
There was an exchange of gunfire between police and the men. It was in that exchange of gunfire that Carter was hit. He died at the hospital on Sept. 4.
The Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), which is handling the investigation, said Turner and Pollard face each face a charge of Robbery Resulting in a Death. Turner faces an additional charge of Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony.
Prior to Wednesday, the Prince William County Police Department said during the exchange, four members of the multi-agency drug task force fired their weapons. Two are detectives with the Prince William County Police Department and two are detectives with the Manassas Police Department.
Tuesday, a lawyer for Carter’s family said he and the family questioned the actions of police that night.
The lawyer, Joshua Wilson, shared doorbell camera footage from a neighbor that shows the moments leading up to Carter’s death.
In it, a man, presumably Carter, enters a vehicle. Then, unmarked police cars surround it. The vehicle quickly reverses, crashing into a couple of parked cars. Notably, the direction in which the car was going was not an exit.
In the video, officers can be heard shouting things such as: “Hands up,” “Do not move,” and “I will shoot you.” The video cuts before any shots were fired, and it’s not clear from the video what prompted the shooting to start.
“We’re still in the fact-finding stage of things,” Carter said. “So, we’re still trying to get as much information as possible. And then once we get all the information that we can, we’re going to use that to make an informed decision as to what our next step is going to be.”
After its initial update Wednesday, the Prince William County Police Department released Ring video that runs for nearly 12 minutes. It gives an idea of the time that elapsed from the time the additional detectives made their move to arrest the three men and the shooting, although the video does not include any gunfire.
From the time the first unmarked vehicle with backup rolls into the main area of focus until the end of the video, nearly six minutes pass.
From the time one of the men gets out of the car to surrender until the end of the video, roughly six minutes pass. After the man is in custody, police repeatedly yell commands at the remaining men. Although the driver’s door opens, the driver has not stepped out by the end of the video which, again, ends before any shots are fired.
Investigators asked anyone to who witnessed what happened in Woodbridge the day of the buy and exchange of gunfire.
Pollard, who still was in the hospital Wednesday from injuries he received on Sept. 1, was wanted on active warrants related to a carjacking that took place in October 2021. Both he and Turner were in custody.
