Newark Man Sentenced To 78 Months In Prison For Carjacking Uber Driver

 NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for his role in a carjacking in which a firearm was brandished, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced today.

Raquin Tanner, 25, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to one count of aiding and abetting the carjacking. Judge Arleo imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court. His co-defendant, Rakeem McNair, 21, of Roselle, New Jersey, also previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count each of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking and is scheduled to be sentenced in November 2021.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Aug. 13, 2019, the victim parked her car, which she used for her work as an Uber driver, on Summer Avenue in Newark. At approximately 11:00 p.m., the victim was sitting in the driver’s seat when three males approached her car. 

Video surveillance from the scene showed that Tanner walked with the other two males around the corner. As they neared the victim’s car, Tanner spoke to the other two, then went ahead of them, looked into the passenger seat of the car, and upon seeing the lone female driver, signaled the other two males to begin the carjacking.

One of the other males pointed a firearm through the driver’s side window, opened the door and attempted to physically remove the victim from the car. A struggle ensued, and McNair went around the car to aid his conspirator in dragging the victim from the car. McNair and the unidentified male threw the victim violently to the ground and drove away with the vehicle.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Tanner to three years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Robert Frazer of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel:

Tanner: Joseph R. Rubino Esq., Union, New Jersey

McNair: Lisa Mack Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark