Former Lyft Driver Pleads Guilty to 2019 Kidnapping and Rape
October 2, 2023

ST. LOUIS, MO (October 2, 2023) — Former Lyft driver Larry Donnell Ward, 57, pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape of a young woman who had called for a ride home from a bachelorette party at a downtown bar on the evening of June 22, 2019.


A sexual assault examination at a hospital the next day confirmed that she had been raped. Police investigators used data from her cell phone that showed the time and place she had been picked up, how long the $9.02 ride lasted, and an image of Ward on her receipt. The trip was less than

five miles but took 50 minutes.


“This case is a modern urban nightmare,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “Our Victim Services Unit has worked closely with the victim to ensure that she received the appropriate legal and psychological support in the aftermath of her trauma. I am grateful to our prosecution team, including Jeremy Crowley and Nicholas Fischbach, for pursuing justice for the victim of this violent crime.”


Ward will be sentenced Tuesday, October 3, at 9 a.m. in Division 9 of the 22nd Judicial Circuit.


###

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:

Amber Raub

Public Information Officer

St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office

rauba@stlouiscao.org

314-589-6233 (office)

314-312-9912 (cell)

More News

July 28, 2025
The beating death of a 3-year-old boy, followed days later by a violent robbery, has resulted in an 18-year prison sentence for Timothy L. Robinson, 37, of St. Louis.
July 25, 2025
A St. Louis man was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a convenience store worker in the city’s Dutchtown neighborhood.
July 18, 2025
Tekeia Henderson, 49, was sentenced to life in prison today for killing his son, Demarko Henderson, 31, after a family argument that turned deadly.