Lexington Man Pleads Guilty to Carjacking

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Jody Shipman, 28, of Lexington, pleaded guilty Wednesday to carjacking, with the intent to inflict serious bodily harm or death, before Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves.          

Shipman admitted to two, separate carjackings, in Lexington, in January and February 2019.  According to his plea agreement, in January 2019, Shipman approached a woman at her apartment, demanded her vehicle, phone, and wallet, and threatened her with force.  Shipman also admitted to approaching a second female victim, at St. Joseph Hospital in February, forcing her inside her vehicle and driving her to an ATM machine, to withdraw money from her account.                      

Shipman was indicted in August 2019.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Tommy Estevan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, ATF Louisville Field Division; and Lawrence Weathers, Chief, Lexington Police Department, jointly announced the guilty plea.

The investigation was conducted by the Lexington Police Department and ATF.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia T. Rieker.

Shipman is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 21, 2020.  He faces up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.  However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The PSN program was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

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