A federal inmate already serving a life sentence has been convicted for his role in a violent kidnapping and robbery of a rideshare driver following an escape from state custody.
According to prosecutors, Stevenson Charles, 24, was found guilty by a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 27 of kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, Hobbs Act robbery and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
Officials said Charles had been in federal custody before being transferred on Dec. 5, 2025, to Georgia state authorities to await trial on charges related to a 2022 murder and armed robbery. During a routine security check on Dec. 22, authorities discovered Charles and two other inmates — Yusuf Minor, 31, and Naod Yohannes, 25 — were missing from the facility.
“This defendant’s escape from custody triggered a violent chain of events that put an innocent rideshare driver in grave danger,” said Jason A. Reding Quiñones, U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. “The evidence at trial showed a brutal kidnapping carried out to facilitate his flight from justice. Thanks to the determined work of our federal agents and law enforcement partners, the victim survived and the defendant now stands convicted by a jury of his peers.”
Prosecutors said that after escaping, the suspects used a rideshare service in Georgia before kidnapping the driver. Once inside the vehicle, one of the men wrapped a rope around the victim’s neck from behind, tied the victim’s hands and forced the driver into the back seat.
The suspects threatened the victim’s life and ordered the driver to keep their head down as they traveled to South Florida.
Authorities said the men forced the victim to provide access to bank accounts and used the victim’s cards to make purchases in Miami-Dade County and Broward County, including paying for a short-term rental property in Broward.
When the victim attempted to escape, the suspects physically assaulted the driver and continued to issue threats before taking the victim to the rental property, where they prevented the victim from leaving.
More than 18 hours after the kidnapping began, law enforcement located Charles driving the victim’s vehicle on the evening of Dec. 22. Yohannes was also inside the car.
Authorities attempted to disable the vehicle, and Charles jumped out while it was still moving before fleeing on foot through a construction site. During the chase, Charles discarded a semi-automatic handgun before being captured shortly afterward. The firearm was later recovered along the pursuit route.
Charles faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the kidnapping and conspiracy charges and up to 20 years for the robbery conviction. He also faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years on the felon-in-possession charge if the court determines he qualifies as an armed career criminal under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
A federal judge will determine the final sentence after reviewing federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Meanwhile, Yohannes and Minor are scheduled to stand trial on March 30.
