Tag: Philadelphia
Seok Joon Lee, Impersonating a Federal Officer, Pennsylvania 2026
⏱ 2 min read Seok Joon Lee, a 54-year-old man from Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, walked into a Philadelphia supermarket on April 22, 2026, wearing a bulletproof vest, a law enforcement-type duty belt, and a holstered firearm. He identified himself as an FBI agent to a security guard and attempted to conduct a security check of the…
Lance Ryan and Rodney Whiting, Armed Robbery, Pennsylvania 2022
⏱ 3 min read In a brazen string of armed robberies, two Philadelphia men, Lance Ryan and Rodney Whiting, terrorized the city in 2022, leaving three people shot and multiple businesses targeted. The crime spree, which took place between May and October 2022, involved the pair using a privately manufactured semi-automatic pistol, also known as…
Charles E. Poole III, Bank Fraud, Pennsylvania 2023
⏱ 2 min read Charles E. Poole III, a 48-year-old Philadelphia man, was sentenced to 69 months in prison for orchestrating a sprawling identity theft and bank fraud scheme that caused over $100,000 in losses to more than a dozen businesses and financial institutions in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The scheme, which lasted from…
James Watts, Drug Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2023
⏱ 2 min read James Watts, aka Chubbs, led the Crown Royal Gang (CRG) in a large-scale drug trafficking operation in Northeast Philadelphia, peddling methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. From 2020 to 2021, the FBI and Philadelphia Police Department investigated the CRG, monitoring their activities around the Oxford Village Housing Project. Watts, 41,…
Mark Snedden, Kickback Scheme, Pennsylvania 2023
⏱ 2 min read A contractor and its owner have agreed to pay $7.2 million to resolve civil claims over a kickback scheme involving an Amtrak official and a renovation contract for Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Mark 1 Restoration Company and its owner, Mark Snedden, paid an Amtrak employee overseeing the project over $323,000 in…
Vincent Lang, Arson, Pennsylvania 2026
⏱ 2 min read Vincent Lang, a 60-year-old Philadelphia man, is accused of igniting an improvised incendiary device and throwing it into the entryway of the Northeast Philadelphia Islamic Center on July 5, 2026. The arson attack on the mosque, located on the 1400 block of Tyson Avenue, caused a fire inside the structure. Lang’s…
Harshpreet Singh, Unlawful Gun Possession, Pennsylvania 2024
⏱ 2 min read Harshpreet Singh, a 25-year-old Indian national, was in the United States illegally when he possessed firearms in Bethel, Pennsylvania. On August 28, 2024, a home invasion and shooting occurred, and Singh was found with a co-defendant and a gunshot victim at a nearby gas station. The incident led to the discovery…
Pichoch Herrera-Ortega, Illegal Reentry, Pennsylvania 2026
⏱ 2 min read In a crackdown on immigration crimes, five foreign nationals were sentenced in June for illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations. The defendants, including Pichoch Herrera-Ortega and Victor Enrique Echevarria Mendez, were convicted separately in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Herrera-Ortega, a 55-year-old Dominican national, had previously been removed from…
Marvin Murphy, Cocaine Distribution, New Jersey 2021
⏱ 2 min read A major cocaine distribution ring was busted in New Jersey, with Philadelphia man Marvin Murphy, 50, at its center. Murphy conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine from June 2021 through July 13, 2021. The ring’s plans were foiled when an undercover agent posed as a…
Isaiah Banks, Child Pornography, Pennsylvania 2026
⏱ 2 min read Isaiah Banks, 30, and Bryan Jackson, 42, two Philadelphia men, were arrested and charged with child pornography offenses. The duo allegedly conspired to deceive minors into producing child sexual abuse material, which they then shared with each other. The crimes occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and were investigated by the Philadelphia Police…
