Philadelphia Man Convicted at Trial for Committing and Conspiring to Commit Violent Home Invasions Targeting Business Owners and Their Families
Defendant Also Found Guilty of Illegal Gun Possession
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Shaquan Brown, 29, of Philadelphia, PA, was convicted Monday by a federal jury in connection with conspiracy to commit armed home invasion robberies targeting the businesses and attached residences of their owners, as well as robbery affecting interstate commerce and attempted robbery affecting interstate commerce, using and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of robbery, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
From November 2019 through January 3, 2020, Brown and three co-conspirators conspired to carry out a series of robberies that targeted business owners and another individual that they believed would keep cash in their home. The offenders used zip ties, duct tape, and firearms to commit these crimes. Brown researched his victims and their businesses, using a GPS tracking device to learn where the victims lived. The defendant and his co-conspirators targeted victims they believed kept cash in their homes, including business owners who were Asian and other business owners who dealt in cash.
On the night of December 31, 2019, Brown and two co-conspirators accosted the owner of a nail salon in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, as the owner returned to the business. The offenders forced the victim inside, and repeatedly demanded money, placing zip ties on the owner’s wrists, covering his mouth with duct tape, and striking his face with their fists and a gun. The men took cash from the business, then forced the owner to his residence, where they encountered his wife, their children, and their nanny. The men zip-tied the wife and all of their children, then continued to beat and injure the owner, and demand money. They ransacked the residence while making statements such as “we have been watching you for weeks.”
On the morning of January 3, 2020, Brown and another individual attempted to break into a residence in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The defendant had planned to commit an armed home invasion robbery of the homeowner, who was a business owner, and his family, to steal the owner’s business proceeds. While attempting to enter the victim’s home, the home security alarm system went off, and the police responded within minutes. The defendant led the police on a foot chase through the woods and into a creek, where he was arrested. The police recovered duct tape, zip ties, and a firearm from the defendant’s backpack.
“Home invasion robberies are terrifying for victims, shattering their sense of security where they once felt most safe” U.S. Attorney Romero said. “It’s unconscionable that running a successful business is enough to make you a target for criminals like Shaquan Brown, who prefer taking other people’s money at gunpoint to earning it for themselves. This verdict not only holds Brown accountable for the harm he’s done, it will keep him behind bars for years, so he can’t hurt anyone else.”
“Everyone should feel safe in their home,” said Charles Doerrer, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Philadelphia Field Division. “The violence that these families suffered is a serious crime, and this conviction will leave Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and homes safer. ATF is committed to working with our partners to prevent such violent crimes and seek justice for its victims.”
Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on July 30, 2024. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 84 months in prison and a statutory maximum of life in prison, and up to five years of supervised release.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Carissimi and Assistant United States Attorney J. Jeanette Kang.
Contact
USAPAE.PressBox@usdoj.gov
215-861-8300
