Two teenagers have been charged in connection with the November break-in of a government vehicle reportedly linked to the Secret Service detail tasked with protecting Naomi Biden, a granddaughter of President Joe Biden.
An investigation linked the young pair to the incident in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the Secret Service said in a statement on Thursday.
On February 7, “the U.S. Secret Service arrested an adult male in connection with this incident. The individual was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and theft from auto,” the statement said.
It added that on February 19, “a second suspect in this case, a juvenile male, was charged by the U.S. Secret Service after he was arrested by DC Metropolitan police department during an unrelated incident” on February 18.
The adult has been identified as 19-year-old Robert Kemp of D.C., who was released from custody after his arrest and has a hearing scheduled for February 29, according to CNN. His lawyer declined to comment, according to The Washington Post.
Kemp was the driver of the suspect vehicle and “wrongfully obtained and used property of a value of $1,000 or more” belonging to the Secret Service, said an affidavit. The stolen items included a police vest, night vision goggles, a portable router, first aid equipment, battery headlamp, and chemical sticks.
The incident took place amid a D.C. youth crime wave that has extended into this year.
A Secret Service officer reported catching one of the suspects with his “legs hanging out of the broken driver side window” of a black Ford Expedition used for members of the First Family just before midnight on November 12, the affidavit said.
Once the officer approached and stated “police,” the suspect got into the passenger side of a four-door red Toyota sedan with Virginia tags, which moved in reverse and nearly struck the officer, per the filing. The officer discharged his firearm during the incident, which ended with the sedan driving away.
The Secret Service previously said a “federal agent discharged a service weapon and it is believed no one was struck” during the incident, which was followed by a “regional lookout” being issued to supporting units.
None of the statements or filings identify the Secret Service protectee, but multiple news reports said the agent who opened fire was assigned to Naomi Biden, who is Hunter Biden’s daughter and the eldest grandchild to the president.
An investigation determined the red Toyota car seen that night was recently stolen, and law enforcement managed to find the vehicle outside a home in Northwest D.C., the affidavit said. Items consistent with the stolen materials were recovered inside the car, as was a receipt showing a purchase at a McDonald’s location in Maryland roughly two hours after the theft.
The affidavit said two individuals were identified from several of the items located in the stolen vehicle, including Kemp’s fingerprints on both the McDonald’s receipt and a paper bag from the fast-food restaurant. The juvenile linked to the theft was found to have been wearing a court-ordered GPS monitoring device, and tracking information was provided showing him at the Northwest D.C. home on the night of the incident.
In an interview, Kemp told investigators that his friend “Kevin” left him the car and he did not know if it was stolen despite thinking the situation was “shady,” per the affidavit. Kemp acknowledged he was driving the vehicle in Georgetown when his passenger, “JR,” got out and broke into a “black truck.” Court documents show Kemp said he heard a gunshot and left the scene.
The affidavit said Kemp admitted to driving to McDonald’s in the ensuing hours and then dropping off “JR” at a high school in D.C., but he denied knowing the whereabouts of the stolen items and was not sure what was taken from the “black truck.”
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