On Jan. 5, 2024, Jalen Mickens was sentenced to 22 1/2 to 50 years in prison for his role in the 2021 Fourth of July shootings that left two men dead.
The original story follows:
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia man on Thursday pleaded guilty to murder in the case of a series of shootings over the span of a Fourth of July holiday a few years ago that killed two and injured five. Prosecutors say the defendant was part of a gang tied to several shootings stemming from retaliation against a rival group.
Relatives of the victims filled the courtroom, and many of them wiped away tears as 22-year-old Jalen Mickens repeatedly responded with "guilty" to third-degree murder, conspiracy and several more charges, read one at a time.
Pamela Owensby's son, Sircarr Johnson, was killed when Jalen Mickens and three others from a West Philly street group got out of a car and sprayed bullets at a July 4th community barbecue in 2021.
"I want them to never forget Sircarr Johnson and the things that he did for the community, for the kids in the neighborhood," Owensby said. "And just also remember we can't let this go by, we all have to stick together and fight for the justice for the gun laws and everything to get the guns off the street."
Jeffrey Palmer, assistant chief for the district attorney's Gun Violence Task Force, says the shooting was one of three from the holiday. The victims — Johnson and 23-year-old Salahaldin Mahmoud — had no affiliation to the violent groups.
"If you know anybody who's in a violent group in Philadelphia, if you're thinking about joining them, if you're thinking about picking up a gun in support of them, we will find out what you did, we will arrest you and we'll make sure that you're incarcerated for an appropriately long period of time because the good people of Philadelphia have lived too long under this," Palmer said.
"Their children, they can't go out and play in the street for fear of gun violence."
Cachella Ford says her stepson, who was 16 years old when he was shot, is still trying to move forward in life.
"It's our youth beefing over social media," Ford said. "It's senseless, it's senseless. Please stop the violence. Stop killing each other.
Mickens, who's set to be sentenced in January, faces life in prison.
