A court gavel
A Delaware man was convicted of kidnapping and other offenses for a multi-state crime spree in which he raped a woman at gunpoint, officials said.
On July 25, 2024, a federal jury convicted Tonnaire McNair-Matthews, 24, of kidnapping, carjacking, Hobbs Act Robbery and Conspiracy, and brandishing and use of a firearm in relation to Hobbs Act Robbery and Kidnapping.
On April 14, 2023, McNair-Matthews, David Hinson, 23, Michael Caldwell, 21, and Mahkiya Powell, 20, attempted to rob multiple drivers by rear-ending them with a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee and then attacking them as they exited their vehicles, officials said. After three unsuccessful robbery attempts, McNair-Matthews – who was driving the Jeep – rear-ended a woman’s car and abducted her at gunpoint.
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McNair-Matthews then drove the woman against her will inside her car from Delaware into Pennsylvania. During the ride, he forced the woman to take off her clothes, demanded her PIN number and sexually assaulted her, investigators said.
After they arrived in Pennsylvania, McNair-Matthews raped the woman at gunpoint, according to officials. He then abandoned the woman and drove her car to Delaware convenience stores, withdrawing money from her bank accounts by entering her PIN number into the ATMs.
McNair-Matthews then reunited with Hinson, Powell and Caldwell in Wilmington, Delaware, where he gave them the victim’s bank cards, PIN number and the gun he used during the carjacking and rape, investigators said.
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Hinson, Powell and Caldwell then cleaned the woman’s car and stole her purse, according to officials. After McNair-Matthews changed his clothes, the four men met up again at a gas station in Wilmington where responding officers tracked them. McNair-Matthews and Powell then fled, leading police on a high-speed chase in the stolen jeep, investigators said.
McNair-Matthews was then arrested three days later after fleeing to Maryland.
“The amount of harm and senseless violence McNair-Matthews and his coconspirators carried out in a single day is astonishing,” Attorney General Kathy Jennings said. “I am deeply grateful for the expert help of Deputy 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’ve so callously inflicted.”
McNair-Matthews faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connelly will determine the sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, officials said.
“There is no place in our society for a violent rapist, kidnapper, and criminal like Tonnaire McNair-Matthews. This conviction ensures he will spend time behind bars for the horrible and cruel attack he viciously inflicted upon an innocent woman,” Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office said. “I am proud of the work the FBI’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force does with our local, state and federal partners to identify and arrest dangerous criminals like McNair-Matthews and bring them to justice.”
