PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A West Philadelphia gang member who posted pictures of himself from prison bragging about killing people will spend decades behind bars.
The mothers of Tommie Frazier and Kaylin Johnson, whom Arshad Curry killed on July 21, 2021, in a triple shooting near North 56th and West Vine streets in West Philadelphia, wept throughout his sentencing hearing Friday. Curry fatally shot both Frazier, 18, and Kaylin Johnson, 16, on their way to basketball practice. A third teen was wounded in the shooting.
Frazier’s mother, Brenda Barksdale, told the court Curry is a coward who she could never forgive, and as her knees buckled she said she hopes he rots in hell.
Kaylin Johnson’s mother, Emily Johnson, said her son’s life was stolen from him, and she doesn’t believe Curry is sorry.
The family of a third homicide victim, Sidney Sessoms, was not in court. Prosecutors say Curry tracked the Sessoms family down after they moved to Port Richmond and killed Sidney and critically injured his father inside of their home.
The defense argued Curry became a victim of his surroundings after his family moved from Germantown to West Philadelphia, saying the murder of Curry’s father and brother when he was young left him traumatized.
But the prosecution said Curry is a proud member of the West Philadelphia gang the Young Face Arrangers, or YFA — posting on Instagram, as recently as last month, pictures of himself holding a shiv and saying, “When it’s all said and done, I remain a soldier.”
Curry’s lawyer asked for the minimum sentence of 30 years, but the judge said she thinks he lacks true remorse and sent him away for 42 ½ to 85 years.