Philly Carjacking Crew Gets Life

⏱ 3 min read

A crew of Philadelphia stick-up artists is headed to federal lockup after a jury slammed the door on their carjacking racket. Mikal McCracken, 24; Amin Muse, 24; Aleem Abdul-Hakim, 23; Dean Fosque, 28; and Kavon Coleman, 23, were convicted for a string of 29 carjackings across the city, a spree that turned deadly in February 2022 when they murdered a former Marine. The feds say the operation wasn’t just about joyriding – these guys were shipping the stolen rides overseas for profit.

McCracken took the biggest hit, found guilty of not only the Marine’s murder but also conspiring to silence a witness who could have torched the whole operation. Jurors linked him to 20 armed carjackings total, five involving shots fired, and even one victim getting hit *twice*, a month apart. Muse and Abdul-Hakim share the blame for the Marine’s death and the witness conspiracy, also racking up convictions for multiple additional armed robberies. Fosque is looking at a lengthy sentence for his role in nine carjackings, three where someone caught a bullet – one person was actually struck.

Coleman, the lowest-level player, was convicted on charges tied to four carjackings. Prosecutors laid out a picture of a tight-knit crew, coordinating the thefts and expertly funneling the cars out of the country. The July indictments finally brought them down. The jury’s decision, announced today by U.S. Attorney David Metcalf, brings an end to a reign of terror that left victims scarred and a city on edge.

The extent of the operation shows these weren’t random acts of violence. These guys were organized, ruthless, and willing to escalate to murder to protect their operation. While sentencing dates haven’t been set, each member of the crew is facing a substantial stretch behind bars, a small measure of justice for the victims and hopefully a significant blow to the carjacking epidemic gripping Philadelphia.