Miami man sentenced to 25 years for attacking Gainesville Uber driver

A 21-year-old man from Miami got sentenced to 25 years in prison this week for attacking an Uber driver in Gainesville last year, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Additionally, Jonquayvias Davon Givens-Moore was sentenced to five years of supervised release following his quarter century behind bars.

The South Floridian carried out his most recent crimes in late August 2021, about three months after leaving prison for other lawbreaking, said Jason R. Coody, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida, in the release.

Givens-Moore requested a ride through the Uber app, but midway to his pre-set destination, he asked the driver to drop him off at an apartment complex instead, authorities said. When the driver stopped, Givens-Moore pulled out a Glock .40 caliber pistol and pointed it at the driver’s face.

He climbed into the front passenger seat and threatened to kill the driver if she didn’t surrender the car. When the driver resisted and begged him not to steal her car, he hit her with the gun and pushed her out. Givens-Moore then fled from the apartment complex in the driver’s car, striking other vehicles on his way out.

Witnesses at the apartment complex called 911 and reported the incident. Soon after, a deputy from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spotted the stolen car. As the deputy did so, Givens-Moore accelerated — at one point traveling as fast as 110 mph — and entered I-75 southbound traffic, with multiple deputies chasing him.

Givens-Moore attempted to leave I-75 at the Micanopy exit, but lost control on the shoulder of the exit ramp. Alachua deputies arrested him.

In March, Givens-Moore pleaded guilty to carjacking, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

“The horrific beating and armed carjacking perpetrated by this recently released felon is beyond the pale and he is unquestionably deserving of the imposed sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Coody.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office worked with the FBI Jacksonville Division to prosecute Givens-Moore, who has committed multiple other felonies in the past, including grand thefts of cars and burglary.