Gene James Gets 17+ Years for Uber Driver Carjacking, Shooting

A Calvert County, Maryland man is behind bars for more than 17 years after a violent, armed carjacking of an Uber driver in Southeast Washington, DC, ended in gunfire and chaos. Gene James, 29, was sentenced to 206 months in federal prison on April 26, 2019, following a jury conviction on ten charges, including Armed Carjacking and weapons offenses.

The attack unfolded on November 19, 2016, at the corner of 16th and W Streets SE, where the victim — an Uber driver — stood beside his running vehicle. Surveillance and witness accounts confirmed James, along with co-defendants Jameik Bassil and Travonn Davis, pulled up in another car. James leapt out armed with an assault rifle fitted with a drum magazine and lunged at the driver, sparking a brutal struggle over the weapon.

During the fight, the rifle discharged multiple times. One bullet struck the driver in the leg, sending him reeling. With the victim incapacitated, Bassil and Davis rushed in to assist James. The trio then fled the scene — with James behind the wheel of the stolen Uber. The car was recovered several blocks away by Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers, who apprehended James just one block from the abandoned vehicle.

Crucial forensic evidence sealed James’s fate: his fingerprint was found inside the victim’s car, and the drum magazine from the assault rifle was discovered near where he was arrested. James has remained in custody since the night of the attack. GPS tracking data later led authorities to Bassil and Davis, both of whom pleaded guilty to Armed Robbery and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.

Bassil was sentenced in 2017 to 76 months in prison. Davis received 96 months. Their cooperation and convictions helped build the case against James, who faced trial in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. On February 13, 2019, a jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts.

U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu praised the rapid response by MPD officers, whose on-the-ground work and evidence trail led to James’s arrest the same night. She also commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jack Korba, Brittany Keil, and Julia Cosans, with support from former AUSA Jennifer Kerkhoff, and paralegals Antoinette Sakamsa and Daphne Theresa Nelson for their relentless prosecution. James will serve 206 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

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