Neiana Allen-Bailey, 20, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Uber driver Amare Geda, 52, in downtown Seattle in 2023. She shot Geda while he sat in his Toyota Prius during an overnight shift, then drove the vehicle for two days before her arrest. Geda's family and fellow drivers mourned him as a hardworking father from Ethiopia.
Neiana Allen-Bailey pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after shooting Amare Geda around 3:30 a.m. near First Avenue South and South Walker Street. Police said she pulled his body from the Prius and left it in the street. She then used the car to visit family in Skyway, smoke marijuana in Rainier Beach, get her hair done in Kent, and refuel in Renton before police arrested her in August 2023 during a stakeout at a street fair in Denny Park, according to online court records and KOMO reports. The sentencing occurred last Friday, with prosecutors requesting a longer term that the court denied. Prosecutor Thomas O'Ban told the court, 'Today, there is only one life sentence and that is for Mr. Geda.' Allen-Bailey expressed remorse, saying, 'I know my apologies and remorse won't make it better... I'm sorry for my part in this traumatizing situation.' Geda's 10-year-old son had written a song played at the hearing: 'I wish I could have stopped my dad from going to work that night... Wherever you are, Dad, I hope you are safe.' Family representative Daniel Negash Ajema described the lasting trauma from the 'violent and vicious murder,' per KING. The Seattle Rideshare Drivers Association noted Geda worked two jobs for 14 years, driving Uber at night and at the airport by day. A fellow driver called him 'an angel on earth' at the sentencing.