DETROIT – Semaj Ayers, 23, of Detroit, is headed to federal prison for over nine years after being sentenced yesterday to 110 months for his role in a brutal kidnapping. The case, a chilling example of street justice gone horribly wrong, stemmed from a botched carjacking and a thirst for revenge, according to federal prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., announced the sentencing, alongside James M. Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF in Michigan. Ayers pleaded guilty to kidnapping on March 18, 2025, becoming the sixth individual convicted in connection with the incident. The initial charge involved seven individuals; Karamoh Turner was the only one acquitted at trial.
The evidence presented at the trials of Cortez Blake, 23, and Nasir Lewis, 24 – both convicted of kidnapping – painted a disturbing picture. The defendants, along with others, abducted the victim from Sinai-Grace Hospital, wrongly believing she was involved in a recent carjacking. They drove her to an empty lot where she was immediately beaten. The ordeal continued at a residence controlled by Blake, where she was held at gunpoint and subjected to hours of intermittent beatings. She was ultimately dumped miles away on a desolate roadside. Cellphones were key to the operation, used to coordinate the kidnapping and recruit additional participants.
This wasn’t a random act of violence. It was a calculated attempt at retribution, a twisted form of justice meted out by those who believe they can operate outside the law. Gorgon was blunt in his assessment: “Gang violence destroys the ability of innocent people in our community to simply go about their business. These defendants tried to take vengeance against another group and committed horrible violent crimes. And they kidnapped the wrong person to boot.” The prosecution doesn’t end with Ayers; Gorgon vowed continued efforts to dismantle such operations.
The carjacking that ignited this chain of events also led to convictions. Jamar Lee-Stinson received 141 months in prison in May 2024 after pleading guilty to carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Amiaya Bryant followed with a 120-month sentence in June 2024 for the same charges. These sentences, combined with Ayers’ 110-month term, send a clear message, according to authorities.
“Ayers and his accomplices are predators who failed,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Deir. “They represent the worst of the worst in our community. They wrongfully imprisoned and tortured a member of our community.” This case underscores the ATF’s commitment to tackling violent crime in the Eastern District of Michigan, a core component of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative – a data-driven strategy focused on the most dangerous offenders and long-term crime reduction through prevention and reentry programs. The feds are promising more arrests and prosecutions as they dig deeper into this network of violence.
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Key Facts
- State: Michigan
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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