DC court documents: Lyft driver who assaulted rabbi also involved in Instacart robbery

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — 32-year-old Tireek Myrick turned himself in to police after he was accused of attacking his passenger, a Rabbi, while working as a Lyft driver on Sunday, Jan. 28. Officials linked him to another incident that happened while he was delivering for Instacart earlier in the month.

A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) police report said that a person had ordered food on Instacart to be delivered to her home on R Street NE on Jan. 13, where the victims live in a basement unit. The order, which cost around $155 and included a tip of $15, was assigned to “Tireek” on the app.

Shortly after noon, Myrick followed through with the order on the app. The police report said that he took a picture of the sky and posted that he had delivered the order, but did not provide an image of the delivery itself.

Another resident opened the door to pick it up but did not see the order. That person even checked the upstairs unit for it. According to court documents, the pair suspected that the delivery worker was responsible for the missing order since the door it was supposed to be left at would not have been easily visible from the sidewalk or street.

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The person who had placed the order reported the issue to Instacart. The company told her that she would be refunded. She also took back her tip on the application.

Court documents said that Myrick showed up at the victims’ home around 25 minutes later and started banging at the door. One of the victims reported him yelling “Come out!” When they didn’t open the door, the man kicked their door in and walked into the home.

Documents said that he “stormed into their living room area” and continued to shout, “Where is my money?” One of the victims had responded, “Where are my groceries?” One victim picked up his child’s plastic chair and held it out at Myrick to try to defend himself, but Myrick threw the chair on the floor.

According to court documents, the victim’s 9-year-old child was home at that time. She started to cry in the doorway of a nearby bedroom, and Myrick closed the door on her.

The person who had placed the Instacart order was “in the middle of calling 911.” Court documents said that she “was petrified and began screaming ‘Please I believe in Jesus!'”

Myrick then grabbed a laptop from the table it was on. Court documents said that he “stated something to the effect of ‘This is mine now!'” before walking out and escaping.

Investigators said that they identified Myrick by comparing his Instacart image to a previous mugshot.

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Myrick was also accused of attacking Rabbi Menachem Shemtov following a Lyft ride on Sunday, Jan. 28. Shemtov had booked a ride on the app, and “Tireek,” as he was named on the app, picked him up at the corner of Leroy Place NW and Connecticut Avenue NW.

According to court documents, Shemtov asked that Myric turn down the radio after getting in the car. Myric told Shemtov that “he did not like his energy and that it was throwing him off and offended him.” Myric then said that he would cancel the ride and told him to get out of the car.

According to court documents, Shemtov got out of the car and started walking away. Myric also got out of the car and started asking why he slammed his door before hitting the rabbi in the face.

“Knocked off my yarmulke, was blocking me from getting it. Finally, I got it and I ran to his car. As I’m yelling, ‘Get away from me. Get away from me,’” Shemtov previously told DC News Now.

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Shemtov tried to keep Myric from getting away, but Myric proceeded to slap him with his hands and keys, court documents said. Two witnesses saw this part of the altercation, one of whom recorded it on her phone.

Myric drove away in a red Toyota with Maryland tags, which officials said was a rental car owned by Metrocars Leasing Corp in Rockville.

Police said that the original police report did not have any details indicating the possibility of a hate/bias incident, but when they conducted another interview with Shemtov, he indicated that he believed Myric had noticed that he is Jewish because of his attire and had told him that “he does not like his energy or the energy of ‘your’ people.” Shemtov also told police that Myric had prevented him from picking up his yarmulka and thrown it at him.

According to court documents, Shemtov told detectives that “when the defendant [Myric] observed him inside vehicle and noticed he was Jewish that was ‘charging’ him for being who he was.

MPD told DC News Now that it was investigating a possible hate crime in regards to this incident.

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