Jury convicts Florida man of carjacking at gunpoint

FLORIDA – A St. Lucie County man has been convicted for a carjacking in Fort Pierce in 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO) has announced.

A South Florida federal jury has convicted Xavier Daughtry, 25, of Fort Pierce, of carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, said the USAO.

According to the USAO, just before midnight on May 9, 2022, the victim parked her vehicle at a gas station on U.S. Hwy 1 in Fort Pierce. After going inside the store, the victim returned to reportedly find Daughtry attempting to enter her vehicle.

The victim said she confronted Daughtry, and when she did, he raised a loaded .45 caliber pistol and pointed it at the victim’s face, telling her to back up, she said.

Daughtry reportedly then got inside the vehicle and left the area.

Less than eight minutes later, Daughtry was apprehended by St. Lucie County Sheriff’s deputies and Fort Pierce police officers. When apprehended, Daughtry was said to be in the stolen vehicle and sitting on a pistol found to be loaded, with a round in the chamber and the hammer cocked, the USAO said.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The case was investigated by FBI Miami, Fort Pierce Resident Agency, with assistance from ATF Fort Pierce Field Office, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fort Pierce Police Department.  Michael Porter and Justin Hoover are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-14047.