A New Orleans man will spend nearly three decades in federal prison after a 2024 armed carjacking ended in a violent collision with an 18-wheeler.
On May 13, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced 30-year-old Jovante Matthews to 350 months behind bars. Because of his extensive criminal history, Matthews was designated as an Armed Career Criminal, a status that significantly increased his prison time. Following his release, he will face five years of supervised probation.
The federal conviction stems from an incident around noon on April 3, 2024. According to court records, Matthews approached two contractors working on a home renovation in the Hollygrove neighborhood. Armed with a semi-automatic handgun, Matthews held the weapon to the head of one contractor, demanding his wallet and keys. He then fled the scene in the company’s Ford F-350 work truck.
The victims immediately called 911. New Orleans Police Department officers reviewed neighborhood security footage, which captured a suspect in distinctive clothing approaching the victims just before the robbery.
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Roughly 75 minutes later, Levee Board police officers spotted the stolen truck in the Gentilly area near Lake Pontchartrain. When officers tried to pull the vehicle over, Matthews sped off, leading police on a high-speed pursuit. The chase ended abruptly at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Mendez Street, where the Ford F-350 slammed into an 18-wheel commercial truck.
Matthews was arrested at the crash site inside the stolen vehicle. At the time of his arrest, he was wearing the carjacking victim’s jacket and had the victim’s wallet inside his back pocket. Officers also recovered a semi-automatic handgun from the driver’s side floorboard and confirmed Matthews was wearing the same clothing seen in the security footage.
During the trial, federal prosecutors established Matthews’ status as an Armed Career Criminal by presenting evidence of his involvement in three separate violent crimes over a three-day period in May 2022, specifically two armed carjackings and an armed robbery.
Criminal records show that on June 3, 2023, Matthews had previously pleaded guilty in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court to three counts of simple robbery and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Though sentenced to five years in state custody for those offenses, he was released early and was out on the streets when he committed the April 2024 carjacking.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Levee Board Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maurice Landrieu and Sarah Dawkins prosecuted the case.
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