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Press Release

Federal Grand Jury Indicts Three Men in Two Separate Louisville Carjackings

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Kentucky
Charges Include Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence

Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned two indictments yesterday, charging a local man with carjacking and a business robbery and two other local men with carjacking.

According to an indictment, on April 14, 2022, Corey Buford, 21, of Louisville, carjacked a vehicle from Kearney Motorsports in Louisville, Kentucky, while brandishing a firearm.

A separate indictment charges Shon Antonio Blythe Stuckey, 41, and Miguel D. Battle, 40, both of Louisville, with a January 21, 2022, carjacking in Louisville.

The charges were announced by Michael A. Bennett, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Jerry C. Templet, Jr., and Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Erika Shields. 

Buford was indicted on one count of carjacking, one count of interference with commerce by robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. If convicted of carjacking, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. If convicted of interference with commerce by robbery, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. If convicted of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 7 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison to run consecutive to all other penalties.

Stuckey and Battle were both indicted on one count of carjacking, one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. If convicted of carjacking, they face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. If convicted of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, unless they have three prior qualifying convictions, in which case they face a minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of life. If convicted of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, they face a mandatory minimum penalty of 7 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison to run consecutive to all other penalties.

All three defendants are currently detained on state charges and will be arraigned in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky once they are transferred to federal custody.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The Louisville Metro Police Department is investigating both cases. Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the Buford case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the Stuckey and Battle case.

The charges were the result of an ongoing joint federal and local law enforcement initiative targeting carjackings which includes the United States Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Homeland Security Investigations. 

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Emily Lantz is prosecuting the Buford case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie Blaylock is prosecuting the Stuckey and Battle case. SAUSA Lantz is an Assistant Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney sworn in as a SAUSA to prosecute firearms cases in federal court. She works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime. Funding for SAUSA Lantz’s position comes from a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs, to the office of Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine.  

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Updated August 18, 2022