Escaped convict captured in Miramar found guilty of kidnapping Lyft driver
One of three inmates who escaped from a Georgia jail and fled to Miramar after kidnapping a Lyft rideshare driver has been convicted in federal court.
A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale last month found Stevenson Charles, 24, guilty of kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, Hobbs Act robbery and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, according to a March 11 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The charges stem from a dramatic late-December escape that ended when authorities tracked the men to a Miramar Airbnb in the 3400 block of Hibiscus Drive, where they were captured Dec. 23.
Prosecutors said Charles and two other inmates — Yusuf Minor, 31, and Naod Yohannes, 25 — had escaped a day earlier from the DeKalb County Jail near Atlanta. Their photographs were distributed across the country.
After escaping, the men ordered a rideshare and attacked the unidentified female driver once inside the vehicle, authorities said. One of the defendants wrapped a rope around the victim’s neck from behind, bound the victim’s hands and forced her into the back seat, according to authorities.
The group then threatened the victim as they drove hundreds of miles to South Florida, prosecutors said.
Charles, who had the South Florida connection, had been jailed on murder and armed robbery charges. He was indicted in December 2024 by a DeKalb County grand jury on malice and felony murder charges connected to the 2022 shooting death of a Lithonia, Georgia, man.
During the trip and after arriving in Florida, the men forced the driver to give them access to bank accounts and credit cards, prosecutors said.
Authorities said the suspects used the victim’s banking cards to make purchases in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and to rent the short-term home in Miramar, where they were to meet a suspect’s girlfriend.
Officials said the victim was held for more than 18 hours during the ordeal and was assaulted when attempting to escape.
Investigators eventually located the victim’s car. Charles was driving the vehicle with Yohannes inside when law enforcement attempted to disable it.
Charles jumped out of the moving car and fled on foot through a construction site, authorities said. During the chase, he discarded a semi-automatic handgun before being captured. The firearm was later recovered.
The following day, federal agents and local police located the other suspects at the Miramar Airbnb, where they were taken into custody by a federal fugitive task force.
At the time, Miramar Police Chief Delrish Moss confirmed to the Miramar News that city officers assisted federal authorities during the arrest.
“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 a statement announcing the conviction.
Charles faces up to life in prison on the kidnapping and conspiracy charges, as well as up to 20 years on the robbery charge.
Prosecutors said he could also face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years on the firearm charge if a judge determines he qualifies as an armed career criminal.
A sentencing date had not been set as of March 12.
The other two escapees, Yohannes and Minor, are scheduled to stand trial March 30 in federal court.
