PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Philadelphia man who helped orchestrate a string of violent, targeted home-invasion robberies—terrorizing business owners and their families over several weeks—was sentenced Thursday to 272 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced.
Shaquan Brown, 31, was convicted at trial on April 16, 2024, of conspiracy to commit armed home-invasion robberies, Hobbs Act robbery and attempted robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He had been charged in August 2020.
Federal prosecutors said Brown and three co-conspirators spent months stalking their victims between November 2019 and January 3, 2020, singling out business owners—many of them Asian and many who routinely handled cash. Brown researched his targets, tracked them with GPS devices, and identified their homes before the crew moved in.
On December 31, 2019, Brown and two accomplices confronted the owner of a Delaware County nail salon as he returned to his shop. Armed with zip ties, duct tape, and firearms, the men forced him inside, repeatedly struck him with their fists and a gun, and demanded money. After emptying the business, they forced the victim to his home, where they zip-tied his wife and children and ransacked the residence while continuing to beat him. Prosecutors said the intruders declared, “we have been watching you for weeks.”
Days later, on January 3, 2020, Brown attempted another armed home invasion—this time in Chester County. The plan collapsed when the home’s alarm system triggered a rapid police response. Brown fled into the woods and a nearby creek before being arrested. Officers recovered duct tape, zip ties, and a firearm in his backpack.
U.S. Attorney Metcalf called the crime spree “utterly horrifying,” saying Thursday’s sentence “ensures that Brown’s home invasion days are over.”
Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division, said Brown “violently terrorized his victims in their business and in the sanctity of their home,” adding that he will no longer endanger the community.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through community partnerships and targeted enforcement.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Carissimi and J. Jeanette Kang, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Doherty.
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