Overview

• A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment on September 4, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office publicly announced the case on September 22.
• All four defendants face a conspiracy to commit kidnapping charge, with additional kidnapping and carjacking counts for Samuel Branch, Giovanni Hudson, and Dontae Scullark.
• Hudson is also charged with carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory consecutive minimum of seven years.
• Prosecutors allege the men surveilled a victim at a Boston Avenue restaurant, held him at gunpoint in his Mercedes-Benz, stole cash and valuables, demanded digital banking access, and drove off with his vehicle.
• Authorities say Scullark and William Hinton were arrested on September 5 and remain detained, while Branch and Hudson are in state custody and scheduled for federal arraignment, with the case brought under DOJ’s Operation Take Back America and investigated by FBI, ATF, and local police.