MINNEAPOLIS — Two men lured numerous Uber and Lyft drivers to pick them up and then robbed them in a violent spree that lasted more than five weeks across the Twin Cities, according to federal charges.
Shevirio Kavirion Childs-Young, 18, of Brooklyn Park, and William Charles Saffold, 20, of Minneapolis, were named Wednesday in a 20-count grand jury indictment in connection with the pair's role in a plot that they routinely enforced through violent and life-threatening intimidation.
"Last month, along with federal and local law enforcement partners, I announced a new strategy to address the rising violent crime in our communities," U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said in a statement released in concert with the charges being filed. "[This] indictment represents an important step forward in that strategy."
"As alleged, these two defendants led a carjacking ring that engaged in a series of violent, premeditated acts against Uber and Lyft drivers."
Luger pledged during a news conference on May 3 that all adult carjackers will be charged and prosecuted under federal laws, and everyone convicted will serve time in federal prison. Federal prosecutors also will devote more resources to indicting people caught possessing illegal guns or "straw purchasing" guns for black market buyers, Luger said.
That announcement came as violent crime approached or hit a historic high in some parts of Minnesota.
Childs-Young and Saffold are charged with conspiracy, brandishing firearms, aiding and abetting carjacking, and aiding and abetting interference with commerce by robbery.
Saffold remains jailed ahead of a June 15 court appearance. A message was left with his attorney seeking a response to the allegations.
Childs-Young is in state prison in Rush City in connection with convictions last year in Hennepin County for felony weapons offenses. State court records note that he has "a lengthy juvenile delinquency history involving assault and weapons offenses."
Federal records do not list a future court date for Childs-Young, nor do they list an attorney.
According to the indictment:
The robberies covered a 5½-week span in September and October, and involved other suspects whose identities have yet to be disclosed by authorities.
Its participants duped drivers into thinking they were picking up or dropping off passengers at a specific location. Upon arrival, they would threaten the drivers at gunpoint to unlock their cell phones and provide passcodes, then force them to transfer money from the drivers' accounts into their own accounts.
The conspirators would then carjack the driver, at times forcing compliance by hitting, pistol-whipping and threatening death.
Charges filed earlier in Hennepin County District Court offer greater detail than the federal indictment about how the robberies played out.
The state charges say that Saffold used an SUV he carjacked at gunpoint on Oct. 21 from a Lyft driver to carry out a similar crime two days later at N. 52nd and Queen avenues in Minneapolis.
On Oct. 23, according to the state case, Saffold and another male parked the stolen SUV behind a Lyft driver. The two stole the driver's wallet at gunpoint, ordered their victim to unlock his phone and drove off with both items.
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