Delaware carjacking, robbery spree leads to federal conviction of local man

A federal jury has convicted 24-year-old Tonnaire McNair-Matthews for his role in a series of carjacking attempts that ultimately led to his kidnapping, sexual assault and robbery of a woman, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

McNair-Matthews and three other Delaware men were arrested in April of 2023 for rear-ending cars in New Castle County and Pennsylvania in an attempt to carjack the drivers. They were federally indicted that July.

What happened?

McNair-Matthews, whom prosecutors claimed was the leader of the group, drove the other men – 23-year-old David Hinson, 21-year-old Michael Caldwell and 20-year-old Mahkiya Powell – in a stolen Jeep as they started their carjacking spree on the morning of April 14, 2023.

They first rear-ended a car near Centreville, but fled the scene before police arrived, according to police. The driver of the other car was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

McNair-Matthews rear-ended a second car less than half an hour later in Pennsylvania, according to court documents and previous reporting by Delaware Online/The News Journal. The driver of the car, a Pennsylvania woman on her way to work in Delaware, pulled over just across the state line and called 911.

McNair-Matthews, who was wearing a disguise, "smacked" the phone out of her hand, according to court records, and forced her back into her car at gunpoint. He drove her in her car back to Pennsylvania while the other men followed in the Jeep, police said.

McNair-Matthews sexually assaulted the woman while he drove, according to the Department of Justice, and raped her at gunpoint back in Pennsylvania. He also stole her debit card and demanded she give him her PIN code.

He then abandoned the woman in Pennsylvania and drove back to Delaware in her car, withdrawing money from the woman's bank accounts at ATMs along the way. The Department of Justice said McNair-Matthews reunited with Hinson, Caldwell and Powell – who had stolen a Nissan Pathfinder – in Wilmington and gave them his gun and the woman's bank cards and PIN.

The three other men cleaned the woman's car and stole her purse while McNair-Matthews changed clothes to "evade detection," according to the Department of Justice. When police later spotted McNair-Matthews' stolen Jeep at a convenience store, he and Powell, who was in the vehicle with him, fled and led police on a "high-speed chase," court documents state.

McNair-Matthews and Powell managed to escape police, but McNair-Matthews was arrested three days later after fleeing to Maryland, according to the Department of Justice.

The charges

McNair-Matthews was convicted on Thursday of kidnapping, carjacking, Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy, and brandishing and use of a firearm in relation to Hobbs Act robbery and kidnapping.

The Hobbs Act forbids actual or attempted robbery, or extortion, that affects interstate or foreign commerce.

“The defendants engaged in a heinous crime spree with devastating consequences," said U.S. Attorney David Weiss. "I commend the victim’s bravery and hope that the jury’s guilty verdict brings some measure of closure.”

McNair-Matthews faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, according to the Department of Justice. His sentence has not yet been determined.

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Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on X at @h_edelman.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware carjacking, robbery spree leads to federal conviction of local man