A repeat offender who made the news last year when he went on the run for nearly a month pleaded guilty last week to his role in a carjacking ring that targeted Uber and Lyft drivers.
U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said Shevirio Kavirion Childs-Young, 20, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to one count of conspiracy to use, carry, and brandish firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence.
Childs-Young is one of four individuals named in a 30-count superseding indictment filed last August that describes a series of carjackings between September and October 2021. Around that time, the Minneapolis Police Department issued an informational alert about an uptick in carjackings targeting rideshare drivers.
According to Luger’s office, members of the conspiracy lured victims to particular locations under the guise of picking up or dropping off passengers. When the drivers arrived, members of the conspiracy brandished firearms and demanded the cellphones and wallets of the victims.
Members of the conspiracy then forced the victims at gunpoint to unlock their cellphones and provide passcodes. The conspiracy members then transferred money, via Cash App or other applications, from the accounts of the victims to the accounts of members of the conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy then carjacked the victims at gunpoint. To intimidate and force compliance, members of the conspiracy struck, pistol whipped, and threatened to kill the drivers.
Two of Childs-Young’s codefendants, 22-year-old Javeyon Demario Tate and 21-year-old William Charles Saffold, have pleaded guilty to the same charge, which comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Childs-Young has also agreed to pay restitution to the victims, court records state. A sentencing date has not been scheduled yet.
In January 2022, Childs-Young was temporarily released from jail to attend a funeral but never returned. He was found nearly a month later in a vehicle in north Minneapolis. He attempted to flee in his vehicle, but police utilized a box maneuver to prevent his escape. He also had an infant and handgun magazines in the car with him. As a result, he was charged with fleeing police, property damage, and child endangerment, but those charges were dismissed.
Childs-Young was in jail in the first place on state charges of obstructing a police officer and illegal firearm possession. Court records indicate he pleaded guilty to both.
Documents in that case said Childs-Young has a “lengthy juvenile delinquency history involving assault and weapons offenses.”
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
