Man Sentenced In Stabbing Of Lyft Driver In Darien: Report

DARIEN, CT — A 29-year-old man who pleaded guilty to stabbing a Lyft driver in Darien in 2022 was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison, suspended after five years served, according to Darien Times.

Abiola Shonowo, a Maryland resident, must also serve five years of probation.

On June 27, 2022, around 10:30 p.m., Darien police responded to a report of a single-car crash in the area of West Avenue and Holmes Avenue, police said at the time.

While responding, officers were told that a Lyft driver had been stabbed and a suspect had fled the scene with the driver's cell phone, police said.

The driver told police he picked up a customer in Stamford and was stabbed several times in Darien while en route to a destination in Norwalk, according to police. The driver, who sustained non-life threatening injuries, said he intentionally crashed the car to stop the attack.

Investigators identified Shonowo as a suspect after reviewing Lyft account information and phone records, police said.

Authorities in Baltimore County, Md., alerted Darien detectives that Shonowo had been arrested on July 4, 2022, for unrelated offenses, police said.

Investigators reviewed Maryland arrest reports and body camera footage and were able to determine that Shonowo had stolen property that further connected him to the Darien incident, police said.

An arrest warrant was developed for Shonowo on July 20, 2022. He was extradited from Maryland on Oct. 6, 2022, and formerly arrested and charged in Darien with first-degree robbery, first-degree criminal attempt to commit assault and fourth-degree larceny.

Citing a pre-sentencing interview with Shonowo by Assistant State's Attorney Margaret Moscati, Shonowo said the driver "did not listen to him so he got mad and stabbed him," Darien Times reported.

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