CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Friends and family of the man accused of abducting and robbing an Uber driver last weekend in are reeling as the news spreads through their quiet Chesterfield neighborhood.
"I’m just in shock,” said Marquel Person, who is a close friend of Kefha S. Nyaanga. "Sometimes he’ll call me [and] say, 'Hey, let’s go hang out.'"
Detectives named the 21-year-old Nyaanga as the suspect in the abduction and robbery of a female Uber driver.
"I saw him last week and… everything was fine," Person explained. "He was outside shooting basketball with his brother. And I came to him, and I just said, 'Hey, how are you doing?' We just talked for a little bit."
Marquel Person
Person said the two attended Old Dominion University together and described Nyaangaas a low key guy who didn’t bother anyone.
"Whenever I would see him on campus, we would talk,” said Person.
Investigators arrested Nyaanga Monday on unrelated charges, but said tips from the public helped them identify him as the alleged attacker.
It was last Sunday when police say the Uber driver picked up Nyaanga at the Walmart off Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield.
During the trip, detectives said Nyaanga pulled out a gun when they stopped at the Union bank and then forced the driver into the trunk. That's when the suspect drove the Uber car to multiple places in Chesterfield using he victim’s debit card before police said he drove the victim to Rockwood Park and fled the scene.
Those allegations left Person stunned.
"It’s very out of character of him. I wouldn’t expect him to do something like that,” Person said.
Kefha S. Nyaanga
WTVR CBS 6 reporter Sandra Jones spoke to Nyaanga’s father off camera. While he said he could not comment on the allegations without a lawyer, he said that he loved his son.
WTVR CBS 6 found Nyaanga has previous charges in Richmond and Henrico that include Grand Larceny, Petit Larceny and Trespassing.
And while Nyaanga remains behind bars facing this latest charge, Person is praying for him and his family.
“I really hope that it isn’t him and it’s a mistake," Person said. "And if it was him, hopefully, he learns from it and gets past it, because this is really hard."
