PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Federal authorities have charged six people they say are connected to several Philadelphia and suburban connected carjackings and car thefts — and two related killings.
Jonathan Akubu, 29, and five others face several counts connected to a large carjacking and car theft ring that spanned Philadelphia, and reached Delaware, Bucks and Montgomery Counties in 2021 and 2022.
The stolen cars would be driven south to Virginia, Georgia or South Carolina, to be shipped to Niger, Africa for sale.
Some of those named in the ring also face a federal murder charge.
Akubu, Mikal McCracken, 21, Aleem Abdul-Hakim, 20, and Amin Muse, 21, are accused of killing George Briscilla as he visited his mother in Rhawnhurst in February 2022. They allegedly killed Briscilla while attempting to steal his car.
Authorities say about a week after Briscilla's death, Akubu killed another man to keep him quiet about the murder. That plot, which they say also involved torching the man's car in Southwest Philly, was orchestrated by McCracken and Muse.
With charges related to murder, the possibility of having a death penalty case is on the table, but it's unlikely the Department of Justice would seek it because President Joe Biden has said he's against the death penalty.
The two other men named in the indictment are 25-year-old Dean Fosque and 21-year-old Eniamaj Lee.
William Brennan, who represents Abdul-Hakim, said in part that they are still investigating and evaluating the evidence, noting the indictment is not evidence. Brennan said his client is presumed innocent.
Tom Kenny represents Muse and said in a statement that right now these are only charges his client is facing, and Muse should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
"We are hard at work investigating the case," part of the statement read.
