PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Philadelphia man was sentenced Wednesday to 210 months in prison for his role in two armed home invasion robberies targeting business owners and an employee, federal prosecutors said.
Ali Chandler, 30, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $60,000 in restitution following sentencing by U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sánchez, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chandler and co-defendant Abdullah Hartage were charged in October 2022 and pleaded guilty in October 2024 to conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce and two counts of using or threatening violence during a robbery.
Hartage was sentenced in January to 18 years in prison.
According to court filings, Chandler, Hartage, and others conducted surveillance on their victims before carrying out the attacks in November and December 2021.
In the first incident on November 13, 2021, the group followed business owners from their workplace to their home and entered the residence after the victims arrived.
Prosecutors said multiple assailants, armed with handguns, forced their way into the garage, assaulted the victims, and stole a backpack containing credit and debit cards and identification.
A 61-year-old male victim and a 65-year-old female victim were struck in the head during the robbery, sustaining injuries, while their adult daughter was held at gunpoint.
In a second robbery on December 4, 2021, the group targeted a store employee after weeks of surveillance, following her home and identifying her residence.
According to prosecutors, three armed men broke into the home shortly after the victim arrived, with one telling her, “I know where you work.”
The 68-year-old victim was restrained with zip ties and struck in the face with a firearm, resulting in head injuries including a concussion and a laceration requiring stitches.
The perpetrators stole a safe containing cash, coins, and jewelry, prosecutors said.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Newtown Square Resident Agency, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Montgomery Township Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Doherty.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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