Federal authorities convict man who raped woman during horrific crime spree in 2023 – State’s first update

David C. Weiss, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that a federal jury has found Tonnaire McNair-Matthews, 24, guilty of kidnapping, auto theft, robbery and conspiracy under the Hobbs Act, as well as displaying and using a firearm in connection with robbery and kidnapping under the Hobbs Act. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly accepted the verdict.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the four-day trial, McNair-Matthews, along with David Hinson, 23, Michael Caldwell, 21, and Mahkiya Powell, 20, conspired to rob unsuspecting motorists by rear-ending them in a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee (“the Jeep”) with the intent to rob the drivers as they exited to inspect their cars for damage. After three unsuccessful carjacking attempts, McNair-Matthews rear-ended the victim in the Jeep, then approached the victim’s car and hijacked it at gunpoint.

McNair-Matthews then drove the victim against her will in his car from Delaware back to Pennsylvania, where he rear-ended her. During the trip, McNair-Matthews forced the victim to undress, demanded the victim’s PIN code, and digitally penetrated her against her will. After arriving in Pennsylvania, McNair-Matthews then raped the victim at gunpoint. He then abandoned the victim and drove the victim’s car to grocery stores in Delaware, where he used the stolen PIN code to withdraw money from the victim’s bank accounts via ATMs.

McNair-Matthews then met up with Hinson, Powell and Caldwell again in Wilmington, Delaware. Once there, McNair-Matthews gave them the victim’s bank cards and PIN, as well as the firearm he used in the carjacking and rape, according to court records. Hinson, Powell and Caldwell then cleaned the victim’s car and stole her purse, police said. After McNair-Matthews changed clothes to avoid detection, the four men met at a Wilmington gas station, where police pursued them. When they saw them, McNair-Matthews and Powell led police on a chase in the Jeep and evaded arrest. McNair-Matthews was arrested three days later after fleeing to Maryland.

U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “The defendants committed a heinous series of crimes with devastating consequences. The coordination between my office and our state and federal partners to bring Mr. McNair-Matthews and his co-conspirators to justice was swift and extraordinary. Together, we will continue to work to remove violent offenders from our streets. I commend the victim’s courage and hope the jury’s guilty verdict brings some closure.”

“The extent of the damage and senseless violence McNair-Matthews and his co-conspirators caused in a single day is astonishing and sad,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “I am deeply grateful for the able help of Assistant Attorney General Diana Dunn and the rest of our team, as well as the Delaware and Pennsylvania State Police and our partners with the FBI, in bringing them to justice and holding them accountable for the harm they so callously caused.”

“There is no place in our society for a brutal rapist, kidnapper and criminal like Tonnaire McNair-Matthews. This conviction guarantees that he will spend time behind bars for the horrific and cruel attack he brutally inflicted on an innocent woman,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. “I am proud of the work the FBI’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force does, along with our local, state and federal partners, to identify, apprehend and bring dangerous criminals like McNair-Matthews to justice.”

McNair-Matthews faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly will determine the sentence, taking into account U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.