PHILADELPHIA, PA — Zyair Dangerfield-Hill, 23, of Philadelphia, was found guilty on Thursday, April 24, of participating in the armed carjacking of a 73-year-old man in the Spruce Hill neighborhood of West Philadelphia in April 2021.
During the trial, the prosecution proved that Dangerfield-Hill and an associate approached the victim at gunpoint around 3 p.m. on April 21, 2021, while he was placing items in his parked car. The armed men demanded the victim’s keys, phone, and wallet, threatening to shoot him. Two additional suspects soon joined, also brandishing firearms. The attackers fled in the victim’s vehicle after stealing his car keys and $20.
The Philadelphia Police Department responded quickly, broadcasting the suspects’ description and tracking the stolen car within minutes. Following a high-speed chase, the suspects crashed the vehicle and fled on foot. Dangerfield-Hill was apprehended hiding nearby, and forensic evidence, including DNA and prints, connected him to the crime.
Dangerfield-Hill, indicted in July 2021, was convicted of carjacking and aiding and abetting, as well as carrying and using a firearm during a violent crime. His sentencing is scheduled for August 14, where he faces a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison and a maximum term of life imprisonment.
“It is tough to imagine yourself surrounded by armed strangers pointing their guns right at you,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf. “The jury’s verdict holds the defendant accountable and keeps him safely behind bars.”
The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Jeanette Kang and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weisberg, was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the FBI.
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