Teen charged after Uber driver is carjacked at gunpoint

Ashley Paul
·2 min read
23

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An Uber driver was robbed and carjacked, and now a teenager is in jail facing a number of charges.

Memphis Police say 18-year-old Danitra Coleman is charged with aggravated robbery, carjacking, and possession of a firearm during a felony.

LaShaudra Cox says it was a night like any other. She thought it was her last Uber ride of the night. Turns out, it might be the last of her career.

“I wish I hadn’t took that last ride because that last ride cost me a lot,” Cox said.

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She picked up two passengers near the intersection of Ashwood and Knight Arnold. She says the man was quiet but the woman was full of questions.

“She asked about tracking, do cars come with tracking?” Cox said. “And then she specifically asked if I had tracking on my vehicle. And that kind of, I was like that’s an odd question to ask me.”

When they arrived at their location at Boeingshire and Danbury in Whitehaven, the man in the car pulled a gun and demanded she get out.

“I tried to grab for my phone and my keys that were in the cup holder and he was like, ‘Nah leave that,'” Cox said. “And I was like, ‘Okay, just don’t shoot me. Just let me walk away. You can have the car.’”

Days later, Cox says a friend of hers spotted her stolen car in the parking lot of Wooddale High, where Coleman is a student.

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Coleman appeared in court Thursday and her bail was set at $120,000. The man she was allegedly with is still on the run.

Cox had the chance to face the teenager Thursday in court for the first time since a gun was pointed in her face.

“I don’t care if you can’t afford it. I can’t afford that you stole my car,” Cox said. “So now I gotta suffer and do everything over, so come up with whatever you need to to get yourself out of this situation like I got to do.”

Cox hopes the young woman can pay for the crime, turn her life around, and turn in the man with the gun.

“Don’t let that man take you down, girl,” Cox said. “I understand you are here where you are, but don’t let him drag you any further. You got the rest of your life ahead of you, let this be a lesson learned, move on from it, and keep going.”

Anyone with information on the man who was involved is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH.

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