Houston rideshare theft ring charged with federal crime

More than a dozen Houston-area rideshare drivers were kidnapped and robbed last year by a group of armed men who used apps to call drivers directly, according to federal prosecutors.

The robbery ring — made up of a group now in their 20s — was busted by Houston police last summer, leading to dozens of charges, including aggravated assault, robbery and sexual assault.

This month, a federal grand jury added even more indictments to the list.

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Kenneth Kelley, Marquis Ricard, Ke Shaun Johnson, Lorenzo Jackson, Nyreon Tucker and Brian Dorsey were indicted this month on a combined 24 counts of interfering with commerce by robbery and using and carrying a firearm during and in connection with a crime of violence, according to a federal charge.

All of the men were already in custody in Harris County and were arrested by U.S. Marshals this week.

An unsealed indictment accuses the men of violating federal law by using apps from California-based companies, including Uber, Lyft and Cashapp, to commit crimes in Texas. Crimes involving interstate commerce are prosecuted in federal courts.

The men are accused of arming themselves with 9-millimeter handguns and robbing Uber and Lyft drivers multiple times between May 24, 2023 and June 20, 2023, according to the indictment.

At least 19 rideshare drivers were robbed during that two-month period, according to a detention order signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan.

All of the robberies followed a common pattern: One of the men would order a ride, and when the driver arrived, two or more men would get into the car and threaten the driver with a gun, Bryan wrote.

The men robbed drivers of cash, credit cards and phones, demanded passwords to access financial apps like CashApp or forced their victims to transfer money directly to their own accounts .

Drivers would also be forced to go to ATMs and withdraw cash, according to the order.

“One victim was forced to withdraw a total of $3,500 from various ATMs, emptying his bank account,” Bryan wrote.

In one case, a driver fought back and ended up crashing into a parked car while fighting for a gun. In another robbery, Johnson is accused of taking control of a victim’s car while Kelley sexually assaulted her, Bryan wrote.

All of the men were arrested by Houston police last year and have more than 30 criminal charges pending against them for aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault, according to court records.

The men were linked to the thefts through surveillance video and cellphone calls, according to court records.

When Kelley was arrested by Houston police in June 2023, he was driving one of the victims’ cars, Bryan wrote.

The group was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 8.

Bryan and another judge ordered five of the men held in federal custody and said they would pose a serious risk to public safety if released. Ricard had not been ordered into federal custody as of Friday afternoon. Court records indicate he was the last of the men to be formally arrested and charged.

Dorsey is the first of the group to be tried in the federal system. Jury selection in his case is scheduled to begin July 22.

No trial date has been set for the Harris County cases.