In the early morning hours of August 12, 2014, a 62-year-old livery driver named Aboubacar Bah was tragically killed in the Bronx. He was a male of Guinean descent who regularly worshipped at the Futa Islamic Center in Morrisania. On that fateful day, he was attempting to earn a living to support his family when he picked up four men who hailed his cab. This ride would ultimately be his last, as the men he picked up had sinister intentions that went far beyond simply needing a ride.
The journey ended in the Hunts Point neighborhood, where Bah was shot and his body was left on Bryant Avenue as the assailants drove off in his vehicle.
The investigation that followed uncovered a violent crime spree. The perpetrators, identified as Tyrone Felder, Takiem Ewing, Kareem Martin, and Tommy Smalls, had carjacked Bah with the intention of using his livery cab to commit a series of armed robberies. This was not an isolated incident; investigators linked the suspects to another remarkably similar crime that had occurred just a week earlier. On August 5, 2014, another livery cab driver, Maodo Kane, was also found shot to death in the Bronx, and his vehicle was subsequently used in robberies in nearby Yonkers. A combination of video surveillance footage from multiple locations, forensic evidence, and dedicated police work by the NYPD, FBI, and Yonkers police led to the identification and apprehension of the four suspects.
The legal process brought the grim details of Aboubacar Bah's murder to light. While Takiem Ewing, Kareem Martin, and Tommy Smalls eventually pleaded guilty to their involvement in the fatal carjackings, Tyrone Felder opted to stand trial. The evidence presented in court was overwhelming, painting a clear picture of a brutal and calculated crime. In September 2018, a federal jury found Felder guilty on all nine counts against him, including two counts of carjacking resulting in death. For his role in the murders of both Aboubacar Bah and Maodo Kane, Tyrone Felder was sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 34 years, ensuring he would spend the remainder of his life behind bars. The other three men also faced lengthy prison sentences for their parts in the violent spree that ended the lives of two innocent men who were simply trying to make a living.
