Local man sentenced for carjacking and gun crime

HOUSTON – A 20-year-old Houston man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of one count of carjacking and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Keiffer Frederick Edwards pleaded guilty Sept. 23.

Today, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered Edwards to serve 71 months for the carjacking. He also received 120 months for the discharging of a firearm offense which must be served consecutively to the underlying carjacking offense. The total 191-month sentence will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

On April 28, the victim drove his vehicle to a gas station located at 407 Farm to Market Road 1960 in Houston. While in the parking lot, Edwards approached and attempted to enter the driver’s door of the victim’s vehicle. After a brief struggle, Edwards shot the victim several times, fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle. Law enforcement apprehended him a short time later.

The victim was reported to have 18 gunshot wounds, but medical personnel treated him, and he survived his injuries.

Edwards has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Mont Belvieu and Houston Police Departments and Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Michael Lewis is prosecuting the case.