A 24-year-old West Park man who shot a woman and then forced a hired driver to flee with him at gunpoint will spend more than 26 years in federal prison, authorities said yesterday. Bakari Jahiem Dixson’s 319-month sentence closes a case that turned a routine chauffeur pickup into a violent escape from Fort Lauderdale to West Park.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, a federal jury convicted Dixson of kidnapping, carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore imposed the sentence Tuesday, ordering Dixson to serve 319 months in federal prison.
Driver Ordered To Flee After Fort Lauderdale Shooting
The incident began on Aug. 2, 2025, when Dixson hired a chauffeur service in Fort Lauderdale, according to federal prosecutors. The driver witnessed an altercation that ended with Dixson shooting a woman multiple times, then watched as Dixson and several associates entered his vehicle and ordered him to drive or be killed.
The chauffeur drove the group from Fort Lauderdale to West Park and dropped them off at Dixson’s residence before contacting 911, the Miami Herald reported. The woman survived the shooting, while Dixson was arrested 11 days later in Omaha, Nebraska.
Earlier reporting by Local 10 News said the chauffeur had picked up Dixson and five others in Pembroke Park before witnessing the shooting. Investigators said Dixson kept a gun on the vehicle’s center console while demanding that the driver leave the area quickly and warning that he would shoot him if he stopped.
Federal Case Ends With More Than 26-Year Sentence
Federal prosecutors said the case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Miami Field Office with substantial assistance from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office described the sentence as accountability for an armed offender who used the driver as a getaway vehicle after the shooting.
Dixson’s sentence amounts to 26 years and seven months behind bars, followed by the restrictions that accompany a federal prison term. Court records for the case are available through the Southern District of Florida under case number 25-cr-60281.
