On August 8, 2023, a rideshare driver in Seattle lost his life after he was shot and his car stolen. The victim, Amare Geda, left behind his wife and children while the suspect, Ne’lani Allen-Bailey has now received a lengthy prison sentence for the crime.
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| Amare Geda |
According to police reports, Geda was working his rideshare shift that evening when 18-year-old Allen-Bailey approached the car. She then pulled out a gun, shot him, stole his car and left him for dead at the crime scene.
After the crime, Allen-Bailey discarded Geda’s personal belongings from his car, including his phone and kept it for two days.
During that time, she used the car to visit family, smoke marijuana, and get her hair done, with the same gun used in the shooting still inside the vehicle, as per Fox13Seattle
She also stopped to pump gas while still driving the car but she was arrested days later after she parked the victim’s car illegally in Seattle
According to documents, Allen-Bailey admitted she also used the same firearm to confronting a Washington State Department of Transportation employee weeks earlier.
In that encounter, she pulled a gun on the worker and assaulted them after they recorded her and others spray-painting graffiti inside a tunnel.
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| Ne’lani Allen-Bailey on the night of the crime |
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| Ne’lani Allen-Bailey during her sentencing |
Allen-Bailey was charged with Geda’s murder and she later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm. On March 27, 2026, a judge sentenced her to 180 months in prison, along with an additional 60 months for the firearm enhancement, bringing the total to 20 years.
During sentencing, prosecutors pushed for a longer term. They asked for more than 23 years and they described the killing as violent and avoidable.
On the other hand, the defense argued for the lowest possible sentence, pointing to her background, describing a history of trauma, mental health struggles, and substance abuse.
Allen-Bailey addressed the court directly and apologized, saying, “I’m sorry for my part in this traumatizing situation. I will never forget this moment.”
The courtroom also heard from Geda’s family, who described the loss in personal terms. In a statement read on behalf of his wife, she said, “Nothing prepares you for the shock, the confusion and the pain of being told that the person you love is suddenly gone forever.”
She also added that their children are still struggling to move on. She shared that her son believes his father might return, while her daughter once said she wanted to become a rideshare driver so that someone would hurt her, and she could see him again.
The judge acknowledged both the loss and the defendant’s background while delivering the sentence, asking, “How do I make due justice for the life lost? How do I do justice for a very traumatized young woman?”
In addition to prison time, Allen-Bailey was ordered to complete mental health and substance abuse treatment after her release, serve three years of community custody, and pay restitution to the victim’s family.
For Geda’s family, the outcome marked accountability but did not ease the loss and according to his wife's statement, “No sentence can bring my husband back.”
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