The four men accused of carjacking and attempting to carjack several people during their morning commutes this spring – resulting in the kidnapping and rape of one woman – chose “innocent” victims at “random,” federal officials say.
Twenty-four-year-old Tonnaire McNair-Matthews, 23-year-old David Hinson, 21-year-old Michael Caldwell and 20-year-old Mahkiya Powell are being held in federal and state prison pending trial. They are all from Delaware.
While the motive for the accused crimes remains unclear, recently-unsealed federal court documents shed light on how the group’s hours-long reign of terror in April unfolded – and ended.
The documents also detail how a distinctive eye tattoo, a pair of Yeezy sneakers and Instagram posts led to the arrest of McNair-Matthews, whom prosecutors allege was the ringleader of the group.
‘No drive will ever feel safe’
The “horrific” crime spree began a little after 6:30 a.m. on April 14, a Friday, near Thompsons Bridge and Guyencourt roads in Centreville, prosecutors say. That’s when McNair-Matthews, driving a stolen Jeep with Powell and Hinson as passengers, is accused of crashing into a woman’s Toyota.
The woman, who lives in Pennsylvania but was on her way to work in Delaware, pulled over and dialed 911. As she was speaking to a dispatcher, prosecutors say McNair-Matthews, who was wearing a disguise, came up to her car and “smacked” the phone out of her hand.
FEDERAL INDICTMENT:Men who police say carjacked multiple people, kidnapped and raped woman indicted
After getting into the car, prosecutors say McNair-Matthews “forever destroyed” the woman’s “sense of safety” by forcing her to disrobe at gunpoint. He sexually assaulted her while driving and then raped her, prosecutors say, before he “abandoned” her on the side of a secluded road in Pennsylvania and took off in her car with her purse.
“No drive will ever feel safe again,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Pierce wrote in a motion for pre-trial detention. “Tonnaire McNair-Matthews, in a stolen Black Jeep Cherokee, forever ruined (the victim’s) daily routine.”
Following the rape, prosecutors say McNair-Matthews drove back into Delaware, to a Wawa on Route 202. There, he used the victim’s debit card to withdraw money before heading to the Towne Estates housing complex in Wilmington’s Hedgeville neighborhood.
Powell, whose mother lives in the area, and Hinson, had driven there in the stolen Jeep, court documents say. Surveillance video shows the two men with Caldwell, who presumably met up with the duo at some point after the initial carjacking.
About 20 minutes after this sighting, video shows McNair-Matthews arriving at the complex in the stolen Toyota. He directed Powell, Hinson and Caldwell to wipe down the car, prosecutors say, then went to change clothes.
After the Toyota was clean, Hinson and Caldwell used a third car – a stolen Nissan that was in the area – to drive to a Royal Farms in Wilmington. McNair-Matthews and Powell arrived shortly after in the stolen Jeep, court documents say.
Shortly after 9 a.m., about two hours after the first carjacking, Wilmington Police spotted the Jeep at the gas station and tried to stop it. McNair-Matthews and Powell fled in the Jeep, leading officers on a “high-speed chase” before ultimately losing them near Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.
Hinson and Caldwell, who remained at the gas station when police arrived, left in the Nissan shortly after the chase in hopes of finding the other two men. McNair-Matthews, court documents say, used the maps feature on his phone to drop a pin of his location.
As Hinson and Caldwell drove up I-95 toward Pennsylvania, Hinson crashed the Nissan into another vehicle that was occupied by two people. Caldwell, who prosecutors say now had the gun McNair-Matthews previously used, pointed it at the occupants in an attempt to carjack them.
As Delaware State Police arrived on scene, Hinson and Caldwell fled in the Jeep but ultimately crashed near Route 202, court documents say. Both tried to run on foot, with Caldwell throwing the gun into a wooded area, but they were arrested.
Troopers later found the ghost gun – a firearm with no serial number that can be assembled at home – under a rock.
Powell and McNair-Matthews were arrested three days later. McNair-Matthews was in Maryland at the time of his capture.
‘Robbed for sport’
Though McNair-Matthews was on the run for three days before being arrested, it didn’t take long for investigators to identify him, court documents say.
Despite wearing a mask at the time of the carjacking and rape, a tattoo along the right side of the 24-year-old’s eyelid and brow was visible to the victim. She told police it “consisted of letters.”
She and another victim also noted that McNair-Matthews was wearing all black, a black mask and distinct white or cream-colored sneakers. Before changing at the Towne Estates complex, McNair-Matthews was wearing Adidas Yeezy 450s, prosecutors say, which are “uniquely shaped and designed.”
An Instagram story from the day of the crime shows McNair-Matthews and Hinson leaning on the stolen Jeep used in the robberies. McNair-Matthews was wearing the Yeezy 450s in the photo.
Wawa surveillance video also shows him in the shoes as he withdrew money from the first victim’s bank account.
INITIAL STORY:Woman sexually assaulted during carjacking scheme, Delaware State Police say
McNair-Matthews continued to stand out even after he changed clothes, prosecutors say. During the clothes swap, he donned a sweatshirt with white letters spelling “POLO” across the front, “distinctive” black jeans with white marks on them and Nike Foamposites, another unique shoe.
He posted various stories in these clothes on the same Instagram account, prosecutors say, along with a gun with an extended magazine and suppressor.
That photo, posted sometime between when the spree began and his arrest, is captioned: “Feds on my ass ima give em sumn to talm (sic) bout they can’t catch me.”
McNair-Matthews was wearing the same Nike shoes when he was ultimately arrested in Maryland, prosecutors say. He later admitted to driving the stolen Jeep from the Royal Farms.
Though federal court documents do not provide a motive for the spree, prosecutors argue the men “robbed for sport.” In court, Pierce, the federal prosecutor, also suggested that McNair-Matthews was the mastermind of the operation and Hinson, Powell and Caldwell were not entirely aware of what was going to occur that April morning.
In a response to Pierce’s motion for detention pending trial, Powell’s attorney argued as much, writing that Powell is “not alleged to have had an active role in either crime.”
“Defendant believes that the theory of guilt being presented by the government is that Mr. Powell ‘aided and abetted’ a codefendant,” attorney Richard Sparaco wrote.
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“Defendant does not concede that he ‘actively participated’ nor does he concede that he had ‘advance knowledge’ of his codefendant’s use or carrying of a gun,” Sparaco added.
Despite these arguments – and that Powell would not be a flight risk if he was required to remain at his mom’s Towne Estates home pending trial – federal Magistrate Judge Sherry Fallon was unconvinced.
She wrote in a detention order for Powell that the charges “involve violent conduct against an innocent and random victim.” She also said she had “concerns for safety” given the access Powell and McNair-Matthews had to personal items, such as the first victim’s license.
In McNair-Matthews’ order for detention, Fallon noted his “lengthy criminal record beginning as a juvenile at age 14,” which includes charges involving stolen cars and guns “among other offenses.”
“He has a record of failing to show for court appearances,” Fallon wrote.
All four men have pleaded not guilty to the charges. They remain in federal and state prisons.
Got a tip? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_
