Stevenson Charles, 24, was convicted for his role in a violent scheme to rob a rideshare driver while fleeing Georgia state custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
A Miami man who is serving a life sentence for carjacking, kidnapping and robbing multiple victims was convicted for his role in abducting a rideshare driver while fleeing custody in Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
Stevenson Charles was convicted on Feb. 27 by a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale of kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, robbery and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said.
Charles, 24, had been in federal custody until early December when he was transferred to a Georgia jail to await trial in connection with a 2022 murder and armed robbery, the office said.
“During a routine security check on Dec. 22, 2025, authorities discovered that Charles and two other inmates — Yusuf Minor, 31, and Naod Yohannes, 25 — were missing from the facility,” the office said.
After escaping, the three men used a rideshare service and kidnapped the driver, the office said. One of the defendants wrapped a rope around the female driver’s neck from behind, bound her hands and forced her into the backseat.
They threatened her life and told her to keep her head down while they drove from Georgia to South Florida, the office said.
“The defendants forced the victim to provide access to her banking accounts and used the victim’s banking cards to make purchases at businesses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, including securing a short-term rental residence in Broward County,” the office said. “When the victim attempted to escape, the defendants physically assaulted the victim and made threats against her life.”
She was taken to the rental home and prevented from leaving.
More than 18 hours into the kidnapping, authorities found Charles driving the victim’s vehicle with Yohannes inside, the office said. Charles jumped out of the car while it was still moving and fled on foot before he was caught.
“This defendant’s escape from custody triggered a violent chain of events that put an innocent rideshare driver in grave danger,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in the statement. “The evidence at trial showed a brutal kidnapping carried out to facilitate his flight from justice.”
Yohannes and Minor are scheduled to face trial on March 30 in connection with the incident. Charles was represented by federal public defenders, who did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comments. He is expected to be sentenced on March 31.
