HARRISBURG, PA — Two Philadelphia men have been convicted and sentenced to consecutive life terms for their roles in a string of gang-related shootings that left three people dead, one man paralyzed, and four others wounded in neighborhoods across the city.
Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Tuesday that a Philadelphia County jury found Chris Byard, 27, guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and related offenses, and Daquan Bishop, 28, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. Byard was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, while Bishop received two consecutive life terms.
The verdicts followed a trial detailing a violent feud between the defendants’ gang, known as “6600,” and a rival group in Northeast Philadelphia. Prosecutors said the shootings occurred between November 2021 and February 2022 in northeast and northwest sections of the city.
“These violent criminals are being held accountable for a reign of cruel and senseless violence that took lives, shattered families, and traumatized neighborhoods,” Sunday said, thanking jurors and law enforcement partners for what he described as meticulous investigative work.
Authorities said the case stemmed from a joint investigation involving the Philadelphia Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Philadelphia Field Division, and the Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force.
At trial, prosecutors presented surveillance video from three separate shootings showing Bishop and Byard firing multiple rounds at intended targets before fleeing in a vehicle. In a fourth incident, Byard and a rival gang member exchanged gunfire. According to testimony, Byard admitted to shooting that victim 19 times, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Four additional people were injured during the shootings. In one fatal case, prosecutors said the defendants mistakenly identified their victim as a rival gang member.
Investigators relied on social media posts, cell phone data, and forensic analysis of fired cartridge casings to link the defendants to the crimes. Authorities said ballistic testing showed the same firearms were used in multiple shootings, aided by the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network system.
Eric DeGree, special agent in charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division, credited interagency cooperation and forensic technology with helping dismantle what he described as a dangerous criminal operation.
A third defendant, 27-year-old Daquan Bethea, previously pleaded guilty in October 2024 to attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and firearms offenses. He was sentenced to serve up to 15 years in prison.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorneys General Maggie Hayes-Oberst and Helen Park.
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