Source: US FBI
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Zyair Dangerfield-Hill, 24, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond to 199 months in prison and five years of supervised release for the gunpoint carjacking of a 73-year-old man in April 2021.
The defendant was charged by indictment in July of that year with one count of carjacking and aiding and abetting, and one count of carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting. In April of this year, he was convicted on both charges at trial.
As proven at trial, just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, the victim was walking his dog on Pine Street, in the Spruce Hill neighborhood of West Philadelphia, and had stopped to put something in his parked vehicle, when the defendant and his associate walked up and pointed loaded handguns at the victim. They demanded the victim’s car keys, cell phone, and wallet, and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t comply.
The victim told them that he didn’t have his wallet or phone on him, but handed over a $20 bill and his car keys. At that time, two other males approached, also pointing their guns at the victim. All four of the carjackers then jumped into the victim’s vehicle, with the defendant in the front passenger seat, and drove away.
The Philadelphia Police Department was alerted about the carjacking, with officers arriving on scene a few minutes later. They broadcast over police radio a description of the victim’s vehicle, the four carjackers, and their direction of travel, and two officers on patrol spotted a car matching that description about a mile from the carjacking scene.
The officers turned on their lights and sirens and pursued the stolen car, which was driving erratically and at a high rate of speed, soon crashing into yellow metal pillars at 52nd Street and Paschall Avenue. Four males jumped out of the car and took off running, with the officers giving chase on foot. A short time later, the defendant was found hiding behind a motorcycle about three and a half blocks from the crash scene. DNA, latent prints, location data, and other evidence subsequently linked the defendant to the crime.
“Dangerfield-Hill participated in the ambush of an innocent stranger in a brazen daylight carjacking, the victim surrounded by assailants pointing guns and shouting threats,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “We will not permit armed criminals to prey on people in this city. We’ll continue to work with our partners to put violent offenders behind bars, where they belong.”
“Let this sentencing serve as a clear warning to anyone considering violent crime in our city: we will find you, and we will bring you to justice,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “Carjackings are a vicious crime that endanger lives, spread fear, and erode the very fabric of community safety. The FBI will continue working side by side with our partners at the Philadelphia Police Department to protect our citizens and ensure those who commit these crimes are held fully accountable.”
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Jeanette Kang and Special Assistant United States Attorney David Weisberg.