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Diante Fernandes, age 19, and Mark Francis, age 18, both of the Bronx, were arrested and charged on Wednesday, Sept. 28, said Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
According to the allegations in the complaint, and statements made in court, between Monday, Sept. 26 and Tuesday, Sept. 27, the duo carjacked, robbed, and kidnapped multiple victims, in the Bronx and Yonkers.
Once on Sept. 26 and again on Sept. 27, the two lured victims to a location in Yonkers using an ad for a used car posted on Facebook Marketplace, court documents show.
When the victims arrived, hoping to buy the car, the two men forced the victims, at gunpoint, into the car they were considering buying, the court documents said.
Fernandes and Francis then drove around the New York City area, forcing the victims to withdraw money from bank accounts and threatening to kill them if they did not comply, the US Attorney's Office said.
The two stole the victims’ money, wallets, and phones. On at least one occasion, Fernandes and Francis held a victim captive in the car for several hours, court documents show.
They then left the victims on the street and stole the cars the victims had driven to the meeting place.
Both men were charged with:
- Carjacking
- Hobbs Act robbery
- Kidnapping
- Conspiracy
- Criminal possession of a firearm
They were remanded without bail.
If convicted of these offenses, the men face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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