A family connection turned deadly when Hdywandus Hdyminus Harden, 43, orchestrated a violent armed robbery and kidnapping that left his victim shot five times and abandoned on the roadside in broad daylight.
On the evening of February 4, 2026, a Bibb County jury found Harden guilty of Armed Robbery and Kidnapping. Harden received a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus an additional 10 years to be served consecutively.
The crime occurred on May 25, 2022, when victim Adrian Montez Howard drove to pick up Harden, whose brother is married to Howard’s sister, near CSL Plasma on Mercer University Drive in Macon. As Howard stopped his white SUV, an unidentified male accomplice emerged from the woods, struck Howard with a firearm, and forced him from the vehicle. Harden and the accomplice then forced Howard into the backseat of his own SUV at gunpoint.
Harden drove away while the accomplice held Howard at gunpoint in the back. During the drive, Harden demanded money and Howard’s cash app card. After the victim complied, Harden transferred $400 from Howard’s account to his own.
As the vehicle approached Thomaston Road, Howard leaped from the moving vehicle and attempted to flee. Harden executed a U-turn, chased Howard in the SUV, and shot him five times. Both assailants then drove away in Howard’s vehicle, leaving the victim wounded on the side of the road.
The accomplice in this case remains unknown and at large.
“This was a calculated and brutal attack on a victim who trusted the defendant because of their family connection,” said District Attorney Anita Howard. “Mr. Howard showed up to help someone he knew, only to be violently ambushed and left for dead. Thanks to the courage of witnesses who called 911, justice has been served. While we’re grateful for this conviction, and our work isn’t finished. The accomplice remains at large, and we encourage anyone with information to come forward.”
Assistant District Attorney Kayla Callaway and Assistant Deputy Chief Jeremy B. Johnson prosecuted the case.
