AKRON, Ohio — An Akron man has agreed to plead guilty to shooting and killing a Lyft driver back in 2021, Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich announced.
Kahlyl Powe, 26, admitted on Monday to charges of murder, carrying a concealed weapon, and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle in connection with the death of 48-year-old Kristopher Roukey. In addition, Powe also pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a deadly weapon while under detention, felonious assault, and assault of a law enforcement officer as a result of two separate cases against him.
According to officials, Roukey was working as a Lyft driver in May of 2021 when he picked up Powe near East Market Street and East Buchtel Avenue in Akron. For reasons still not publicly specified, Powe shot him multiple times in the stomach, and he later died from his injuries at an area hospital.
U.S. Marshals arrested Powe a day later, and after nearly three years of court delays a judge ruled him mentally competent to stand trial before he eventually pleaded guilty. Besides the murder of Roukey, Powe was also charged with assaulting a Summit County Sheriff's deputy while in jail in January of 2022 along with assaulting a fellow inmate in February of 2023.
Judge Alison McCarty is scheduled to sentence Powe on May 16. He could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison for his crimes.
