Union County Man Gets 7 Years For Carjacking Uber Driver

UNION COUNTY, NJ — A Union County man was sentenced to 85 months in prison for his role in the armed carjacking of a woman who worked as an Uber driver at gunpoint in Newark two years ago, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced.

Rakeem McNair, 22, of Roselle, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking.

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Raquin Tanner, 26, of Newark, pleaded guilty on March 10, to one count of aiding and abetting the carjacking and was sentenced on July 26, to 78 months in prison.

On Aug. 13, 2019 at about 11 p.m. a woman was sitting in her parked car, which she used for her work as an Uber driver, on Summer Avenue in Newark when three men approached her car, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court. Read More: 2 NJ Men Admit They Carjacked Uber Driver In Newark: Feds

Video surveillance scene showed that Tanner walked with the other two men around the corner. As they neared the woman's car, Tanner spoke to the other two, then went ahead of them, looked into the passenger seat of the car, and upon seeing the woman, signaled the other two men to begin the carjacking, according to reports.

One of the other men pointed a gun through the driver’s side window, opened the door and tried to physically remove the woman from the car. A struggle ensued, and McNair went around the car to help drag her from the car, according to reports.

McNair and the unidentified man threw the woman violently to the ground and drove away with the vehicle.

In addition to the prison term, McNair was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

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