Current:Home > FinanceDelaware man gets 7 1/2-year federal term in carjacking of congresswoman’s SUV in Philadelphia -Wealthify
Delaware man gets 7 1/2-year federal term in carjacking of congresswoman’s SUV in Philadelphia
View
Date:2025-04-17 16:23:22
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Delaware man has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in federal prison in the carjacking of a U.S. congresswoman’s sport utility vehicle in a Philadelphia park almost two years ago.
Josiah Brown, 21, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat, was walking to her parked car after a meeting in south Philadelphia’s FDR Park shortly before 3 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2021, when Brown and another person demanded her keys, police said. She handed them over, and one drove off in the car while the other followed in a dark sport utility vehicle, police said.
Brown, then 19, said he didn’t know who the congresswoman was and his weapon was unloaded. He also didn’t know that the vehicle had a tracker that quickly led authorities to his Wilmington home. He and four juveniles were arrested at nearby Christiana Fashion Center in Newark, Delaware, about 45 miles (74 kilometers) from Philadelphia.
Brown was charged with federal counts of carjacking and brandishing a gun during a violent crime, which carries a seven-year mandatory minimum term. The other teens — aged 13, 14, 15 and 16 —were charged in juvenile court in Delaware with receiving stolen property.
Scanlon didn’t attend Wednesday’s hearing but said in a letter to the judge that her sense of security remains shaken and she remains wary in public spaces. She also said she worries that the crime contributed to an impression of Philadelphia as an unsafe place to visit.
Carjackings hit a record high in Philadelphia last year, with more than 1,300 reported, a 53% increase over 2021, and nearly six times the annual total reported three years ago, the Inquirer reported.
“The moments during which my colleague and I retreated and sought cover … were certainly terrifying,” Scanlon wrote, adding that she didn’t know if the defendant and his companion “were so lacking in judgment that they might shoot us as they made their escape.”
She said that while Brown should be held accountable for “a dangerous and criminal act,” the criminal justice system’s goals are not only punishment but also rehabilitation and reform, “especially for someone so young.”
Authorities said Brown wrote a letter of apology saying he “was with the wrong people at the wrong time.” His federal public defender Rossman Thompson said Wednesday that Brown “has done everything he can possibly do to accept full responsibility for his crimes.”
A prosecutor, however, said Brown was attempting to deflect from his own responsibility.
U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe said she believed Brown was remorseful and supported Scanlon’s suggestion of giving him a second chance, but mandatory minimum sentencing laws required a term of at least seven years.
“We cannot tolerate this in our city, in our country,” the judge said. “It can’t be commonplace.”
veryGood! (92)
Related
- Jury finds man guilty of sending 17-year-old son to rob and kill rapper PnB Rock
- This Is Us Star's Masked Singer Reveal Will Melt Your Heart
- Angel Reese uses spotlight to shine light on everyone in WNBA, past and present
- Chevrolet Malibu heads for the junkyard as GM shifts focus to electric vehicles
- Euphoria's Hunter Schafer Says Ex Dominic Fike Cheated on Her Before Breakup
- China and US resume cooperation on deportation as Chinese immigrants rush in from southern border
- California regulators to vote on changing how power bills are calculated
- Yes, you can eat cicadas. Here are 3 recipes to try before they go underground for more than a decade.
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Miss USA, Miss Teen USA resignations: A reminder of beauty pageants' controversial history
Ranking
- Charges: D'Vontaye Mitchell died after being held down for about 9 minutes
- Tornadoes, severe storms rip through Ohio, Oklahoma, Michigan: See photos
- FDIC workplace was toxic with harassment and bullying, report claims, citing 500 employee accounts
- Urologist convicted of patient sex abuse, including of minors
- 'Meet me at the gate': Watch as widow scatters husband's ashes, BASE jumps into canyon
- Idaho man gets 30 years in prison for 'purposely' trying to spread HIV through sex
- NFL schedule release 2024: When is it? What to know ahead of full release next week
- Phoenix Braces—and Plans—for Another Hot, Dry Summer
Recommendation
FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima inducted into World Video Game Hall of Fame
Rents are rising faster than wages across the country, especially in these cities
Ukrainian Olympic weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko killed defending Ukraine from Russia, coach says
Travis Hunter, the 2
Christine Quinn’s Estranged Husband Christian Dumontet Charged With Child Abuse and Assault
Twenty-Five Years After Maryland Deregulated Its Retail Energy Market, a Huge Win Looms For Energy Justice Advocates.
It’s getting harder to avoid commercials: Amazon joins other streamers with 'pause ads'