The Mitchell man convicted of attempted murder that was green-lighted to become a Lyft driver earlier last week by the Mitchell City Council, will not be giving a Lyft to anyone on behalf of the on-demand transportation company after all.

KSFY TV is reporting that Joseph Novak's Lyft application was unanimously approved on Tuesday, (February 20) by the Mitchell City Council. Novak spent 15 years in prison following his murder conviction in 1992. Under South Dakota state law, background checks are only required to look for offenses occurring in the past seven years. Novak's conviction for murder happened 26 years ago, therefore, the city council had no choice but to grant Novak's application to become a driver for the company in the state.

Things took a U-turn on Thursday, (February 22) when the ride sharing company revoked Novak's driver account.

A Lyft spokesman told KSFY TV, "The law in South Dakota governing transportation network companies requires a look-back period of seven years for offenses when conducting a background check. Given that the offense in question occurred outside of this look-back period, it did not immediately disqualify this individual to drive under state law. However, after reviewing this case and considering the nature of this offense, we have elected to deactivate this driver."

According to KSFY, Novak claims he served his time and just wants the ability to work as a Lyft driver.

Source: KSFY TV


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