Mt Vernon Man Sentenced In Armed Taxicab Carjackings

A Mount Vernon man was sentenced to eight years in prison for four armed carjackings of taxi cabs in Mount Vernon and the Bronx.

All the carjackings took place in November 2018, said Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the announcement.

“Four hardworking cab drivers were simply doing their jobs when Samir Sullivan terrified them by pointing a gun at their heads," Berman said. "After threatening to shoot all four drivers and hitting one with his gun, Sullivan took their cabs, as well as their cash, wallets, and phones. Today’s lengthy sentence sends a message that this violent behavior will not be tolerated in this district."

According to the allegations in the Complaint, the Information, and statements made during court proceedings:

In the middle of the night and early morning on November 25 and 29, 2018, Sullivan and his partner committed four armed carjackings of cabs in Mt. Vernon and the Bronx. To complete the carjackings, Sullivan pointed and held a gun at the heads of four scared cab drivers, pushed the gun against the sides of some of the drivers’ faces (at least one of whom pleaded for his life), demanded that the drivers give him everything they had, threatened to shoot if the drivers did not comply, threatened that he would kill one of the drivers, directed his partner to ransack the drivers’ pockets for cash, and hit the shoulders of one of drivers with the gun. In addition to the cabs, which he would drive away and abandon before finding his next victim, SULLIVAN took the drivers’ cash, wallets, phones, and a jacket.

Sullivan pleaded guilty on Jan. 28 before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who imposed the sentence. In addition to the prison term, Sullivan, 33, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit the proceeds of the offenses and pay restitution to his victims.

Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Mount Vernon Police Department. This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorney David Felton is in charge of the prosecution.