FBI: Illinois Man Robbed Uber and Taxi Drivers, Gets 11 Years

According to the FBI in Chicago, a man who carried out a series of robberies that targeted taxi and ride-share drivers will now get to spend the next 11 years in prison for his crimes.

I came across this status update from the FBI in Chicago just shared on their Facebook page a few days ago.

Additional details were provided by the United States Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Illinois. Their press release says Anthony Reed, 28 of Chicago, carried out the following crimes over the span of just a few days in February of 2022. On February 4, 2022, he robbed a taxi driver of his tablet and cell phone. The following day, he stole $120, a cell phone and tablet from another taxi driver. Three days later, he stole a wallet that had several hundred dollars in cash in it plus a cell phone and a jacket from an Uber driver. Their report says that Reed carried out the robberies at gunpoint and even used the butt of his weapon to strike a driver in the head.

“Over the course of only four days, defendant robbed three victims at gunpoint while the victims were doing their job,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret A. Steindorf and Paul Schied argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “A significant sentence is warranted to protect the public from defendant’s criminal appetite and deter defendant from committing future violent acts.”

Reed was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison just a few days ago by U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr.