A West Park man was sentenced on Aug. 4 to 319 months in federal prison for kidnapping a hired driver at gunpoint and forcing the victim to drive him and his associates away from the scene of a shooting in Fort Lauderdale.
U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore imposed the sentence on Bakari Jahiem Dixson, 24, after a jury found him guilty of one count of kidnapping, one count of carjacking, and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
“After shooting a woman multiple times, Bakari Jahiem Dixson turned a hired driver into his getaway driver at gunpoint and threatened to kill him if he did not comply,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones. “This was a terrifying act of violence that showed complete disregard for human life. The more than 26-year sentence imposed holds Dixson accountable and protects the public from a dangerous armed offender.”
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on Aug. 2, 2025, Dixson hired a chauffeur service in Fort Lauderdale. While waiting for transportation, the driver witnessed an altercation involving Dixson which culminated in Dixson shooting a woman multiple times. Immediately after the shooting, Dixson and several associates entered the victim’s vehicle; brandishing a firearm, Dixson ordered the driver to “drive or be killed.” The driver complied out of fear for his life and drove them from Fort Lauderdale to West Park before dropping them off at Dixson’s residence. Eleven days later, authorities arrested Dixson in Omaha, Nebraska.
U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones announced the sentencing along with Special Agent in Charge Jason Stankiewicz of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division. The ATF Miami Field Office investigated with assistance from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Camille Smith and Justin McCormack prosecuted.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida oversees an area spanning about 15,197 square miles across nine counties serving more than seven million residents; it operates under the U.S. Department of Justice with branch offices including Fort Lauderdale as well as about 223 assistant attorneys, according to its official website.