Memphis Rideshare Driver Accused of Kidnapping Woman, Pointing Gun, Demanding Sex Act

A woman who accepted a rideshare from a driver identifying himself as Marlon Jackson says she ended up fleeing his car near a house off Bethel Road after he pointed a gun at her and demanded a sexual act. Jackson, now facing charges including aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, is being held on a $100,000 bond and was expected in court Thursday.

According to police records cited by Action News 5, the woman accepted the ride from Jackson on Tuesday near Chelsea Avenue and University Street. Jackson agreed to take her to her stated destination, but instead drove her near a house off Bethel Road, where he told her she could not leave the vehicle, per the same police records.

Memphis police say Jackson then demanded a sexual act from the woman and pointed a gun at her when she refused, according to police. He also threatened to shoot her if she tried to escape, per the report. The woman ultimately got away from Jackson's vehicle near the Bethel Road house, the station's report states.

Charges Carry Steep Prison Exposure Under State Law

Jackson is charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. Under Tennessee Code § 39-13-304, aggravated kidnapping committed while in possession of or threatening a deadly weapon is a Class B felony carrying 8 to 30 years in prison and fines up to $25,000, according to Justia Law.

The felon-in-possession charge also carries significant weight. Possessing a firearm after a prior conviction for a violent felony or a felony involving a deadly weapon is itself a Class B felony under Tennessee Code § 39-17-1307(b), punishable by 8 to 30 years, while general handgun possession by a convicted felon is charged as a lesser Class C or E felony, per Justia Law. The aggravated assault charge, meanwhile, falls under Tennessee Code § 39-13-102 as a Class C felony when a deadly weapon is used or displayed, carrying 3 to 15 years and fines between $10,000 and $15,000.

Any resulting sentence would fall under Tennessee's Truth in Sentencing law. Individuals convicted of violent felonies including aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault committed on or after July 1, 2022, must serve 85% to 100% of their sentence with no eligibility for early parole, according to the statute referenced by Justia Law.

Prior Criminal Record and Open Questions About Rideshare Screening

Tennessee court records show a defendant named Marlon Jackson had a three-year probationary sentence for attempted methamphetamine possession with intent to sell revoked in March 2023 after violating probation through new criminal activity, according to Justia Law. It remains an open question whether Jackson was an officially registered driver for an app-based platform like Uber or Lyft at the time of this incident, or was operating off-app and unlicensed.

If Jackson was active on a rideshare platform, questions remain about how he could have passed the criminal background checks Tennessee law requires of such companies. Under the Tennessee Transportation Network Company Services Act, codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 65-15-304, rideshare platforms operating in the state are statutorily required to conduct local and national criminal background checks, including multistate record locators and national sex offender registry searches, before activating any driver.

Part of a Wider Pattern of Rideshare Safety Concerns in Memphis

This case adds to a string of rideshare safety incidents Hoodline has tracked in Memphis this year, including an earlier gunpoint threat inside a Lyft and a case in which a woman managed to flee an alleged fake rideshare driver outside Baptist Memorial. In July, a Shelby County Criminal Court judge sentenced a defendant to 150 years in prison for the 2022 double-homicide of a passenger and an 80-year-old Lyft driver in Memphis, underscoring how severe rideshare-related violence in the city has been in recent years.

The concerns extend beyond Memphis. Unsealed court documents from federal multidistrict litigation reveal that Uber received more than 400,000 reports of sexual assault or misconduct nationwide between 2017 and 2022, fueling thousands of passenger safety lawsuits over driver screening processes, according to TruLaw.

Locally, the arrest comes as Memphis police report broader declines in violent crime. According to second-quarter 2026 data from the Memphis Police Department, aggravated assaults citywide are down 30% and robberies down 38% compared to 2025, with overall Part I crimes down 36% year-to-date. Earlier this year, the department also established specialized Prolific Offender Initiatives, including an Aggravated Assault Prolific Offender Initiative aimed specifically at repeat drivers of gun violence in the city.