A 20-year-old Philadelphia man has received a sentence of more than 11 years in federal prison for a series of carjackings targeting ride-share drivers. Rashad Johnson-Price was handed 135 months behind bars, along with a subsequent five years of supervised release and a $300 special assessment fee, after admitting to two counts of carjacking along with an additional firearms charge during the acts of violence, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Johnson-Price, along with an accomplice, coerced a Lyft driver at gunpoint in the early morning of August 9, 2022, and then again targeted an Uber driver similarly just four days later. During these incidents, the perpetrators utilized the ride-share service to arrange pickups before turning the end of their trips into a crime scene.
U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero commented on the sentencing, noting the fear the victims must have felt during the attacks. "The victims in this case were just trying to make an honest living when two criminals threatened them at gunpoint," she said. "It must have been terrifying, especially in the early hours of the morning, with few other people around. We and our partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force will not allow carjackers like Rashad Johnson-Price to commit these violent crimes with impunity," as cited by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The ATF's Philadelphia Field Division and the Philadelphia Police worked together on this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert E. Eckert and Lauren E. Stram handled the prosecution. Eric J. DeGree, the Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division, highlighted how important these partnerships are for seeking justice and improving community safety.
