Source: United States Department of Justice News
INDIANAPOLIS – Kenyasia Edmond, 20, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to eighty-five months in federal prison after pleading guilty to robbery, carjacking, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
According to court documents, during October 2020, investigators with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation were investigating a string of armed robberies. The robberies were of Lyft drivers and were alleged to have been perpetrated by two young females. On October 22, 2020, Kenyasia Edmond, then 18 years old, and Taa’mya Alisa Womack, then 17 years old, of Indianapolis, hailed a Lyft to pick them up from the Glendale area of Indianapolis. When the Lyft arrived Edmond and Womack entered the back seat of the vehicle. During transit to their destination Edmond and Womack placed guns against the victim’s head and ordered her to stop the vehicle. Once the vehicle came to a stop, the victim and Edmond exited from the vehicle. Edmond pushed the victim to the ground, placed her foot on the victim’s back and ordered her not to move. Edmond and Womack then fled the area in the victim’s vehicle.
The victim ran to a nearby gas station and called the police. Later that evening investigators spotted a vehicle matching the description of the victim’s car. Investigators conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, which was occupied by Edmond, Womack, and a juvenile who was not involved in the carjacking. After confirming that the vehicle was stolen, officers ordered the three occupants to exit the vehicle. While placing Edmond under arrest, investigators heard what they believed to be a metallic object fall to the ground. A subsequent search of the area revealed a 9mm semiautomatic pistol.
During a search of the vehicle, investigators located the victim’s cell phone and other items belonging to the victim. In addition to those items, investigators located clothing which matched the description of the clothing the victim said the robbers wore.
Edmond was taken to IMPD headquarters where she waived her rights and agreed to be interviewed. During the interview Edmond informed investigators that she hailed the Lyft for the purpose of robbing the driver. While Edmond admitted that a firearm was used during the commission of the robbery and carjacking, she stated that it was Womack who wielded the weapon. Womack was prosecuted as an adult in Marion County courts.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI investigated the case and IMPD provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. As part of the sentence, Judge Pratt ordered that Edmond be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following her release from federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence D. Hilton who prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.