PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Georgia man was sentenced Tuesday to 13½ years in federal prison for his role in two armed carjackings in Philadelphia and Upper Darby in 2024, concluding one of three related prosecutions stemming from the crimes.
Jalaal Claitt, 20, of Atlanta, received a sentence of 162 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $7,400 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania stated. U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sánchez imposed the sentence.
Claitt pleaded guilty in February to two counts of carjacking and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Federal prosecutors had charged him in a superseding indictment filed in April 2025.
According to court filings, the first carjacking occurred Sept. 17, 2024, on the 300 block of 62nd Street in West Philadelphia. Prosecutors alleged Claitt and co-defendants Kristian Jackson, 20, and Legend Hall, 20, approached a driver after the victim parked a Chevrolet Malibu.
After the victim refused a request to provide a ride, two of the men allegedly displayed handguns and ordered the victim out of the vehicle. Prosecutors alleged the group fled in the victim’s car, taking an iPhone 14 and approximately $500.
The second incident occurred Oct. 1, 2024, in Upper Darby. According to prosecutors, Claitt, Hall and others placed a pizza delivery order before confronting the delivery driver at gunpoint.
Federal prosecutors alleged the group stole the driver’s wallet, cellphone, car keys, cash from the pizza shop, personal cash and the victim’s vehicle before fleeing.
Jackson previously pleaded guilty to the West Philadelphia carjacking and was sentenced in February to 8½ years in federal prison.
Hall pleaded guilty to participating in both the Philadelphia and Upper Darby carjackings and was sentenced in April to 11½ years in prison.
The FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department investigated the case with assistance from the Upper Darby Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert E. Eckert and Samantha A. Arena prosecuted the case.
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