The Philadelphia Inquirer reported federal prison sentences for five men in a Philadelphia carjacking crew.

Friday's terms are the sentences the Inquirer reported for the five men who went to trial. Life plus several decades, 35 years, and 86 years are not the same term. Jonathan Akubu's guilty plea is a separate case that has not reached a sentencing hearing. The Inquirer does not name the other two defendants whose cases also have not reached that phase.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in a story by Chris Palmer published at 1:40 p.m. ET, that five men from a Philadelphia carjacking crew were sentenced this week in federal court to at least several decades in prison. The paper reported U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy sentenced Mikal McCracken, Amin Muse, and Aleem Abdul-Hakim to life in prison plus additional terms of several decades. It reported all three were convicted of participating in the attack on George Briscella, and that McCracken was found guilty of ordering the killing of Aiah Gbessay. It reported Kavon Coleman and Dean Fosque, convicted of participating in some of the carjackings but not the murders, received 35 years and 86 years, respectively. Life plus several decades is not 35 years, and 35 years is not 86. The story does not print the number of years in those additional terms, and it does not print the defendants' ages.

The Inquirer reported that prosecutors said the men, along with several other coconspirators, committed about 60 carjackings and two murders over about four months beginning in 2021. It reported the crew ambushed drivers at gunpoint, took keys, wallets, phones, and cars, often forced people to send money through digital payment apps, and in some cases shot at them. It reported one victim was attacked after leaving a birthday party. It reported another, an immigrant, said that after his car and wallet were stolen, fraudulent bank accounts were opened in his name, and that he could not get a passport for two years because his green card was stolen, so he could not fly home to visit his children. Those children are not named here. About 60 is the prosecutors' figure the paper printed. It is not a count of counts in the judgment.

The Inquirer reported the killings were in early 2022. It reported several crew members looking to steal a Toyota attacked 60-year-old George Briscella in Northeast Philadelphia and fatally shot him. It reported Briscella, a Marine Corps veteran, had been driving the SUV to visit his mother. It reported that days later the crew killed Aiah Gbessay, a locksmith who had helped create a key for Briscella's car after it was stolen, because crew members were worried he might talk to the police. It reported Gbessay was an immigrant from Sierra Leone whose relatives said he was doing honest work in West Philadelphia, and that his death affected his son and wife, who had emigrated to the city only a few months before he was killed. His son is not named here. Judge Murphy called the conduct laid out at a two-month trial earlier this year "outlandish" and "completely intolerable," and said, "It was a multimonth, appalling reign of terror that destroyed people's lives, and ended two people's lives, and had the worst consequences on their families."

The Inquirer reported relatives spoke at the sentencing hearings this week. It reported Briscella's wife and one of his sons described him as a devoted husband, son, father, and grandfather. It reported his oldest son, Tony, said, "He was an everyday guy: ordinary in every way, but special in so many ways." It reported Gbessay's brother, Komba, said, "He was a great brother, a great dad," and, "He was a hard-working man. He will be missed." The paper did not print a surname for Tony or for Komba. It reported Fosque apologized and said he wished he could take away the victims' pain, and that he said in court Friday, "I can take responsibility for the choices I've made to move forward and work every day to become a better person." It reported McCracken denied the killings of Briscella and Gbessay and said the evidence against him, including cell phone records, surveillance video, and testimony from a key coconspirator, was unreliable or false. It reported he said, "I promise to God: I did not murder your family member," and, "The worst feeling in this world is knowing the type of person you are, but people not seeing that when they look at you." A denial at sentencing is what he said after the conviction the paper reported. It is not a new verdict.

The Inquirer reported three other defendants have cases that have not reached the sentencing phase, including Jonathan Akubu, who testified at the trial. It reported he was the first crew member arrested, in 2022, after police used ballistics and cell phone records to tie him to the murders of Briscella and Gbessay. It reported that shortly after he was taken into custody he began telling investigators about dozens of crimes, often in detail, including who was involved and how each one unfolded, and that he said the crew sold stolen cars to other men who shipped them to unspecified countries in Africa to be resold. It reported much of that was later corroborated, including by cell phone records, and that authorities recovered one of the cars he mentioned in a shipping container headed overseas. It reported he spent more than a day on the stand this year and described luring Gbessay into West Philadelphia and then repeatedly shooting him to death. It reported he pleaded guilty and has not been sentenced, and that prosecutors said his plea and cooperation agreement call for at least 35 years, though it could be much more. The paper does not name the other two defendants whose cases have not reached sentencing. A guilty plea is the conviction on the counts he admitted. A floor of 35 years in a cooperation agreement is not the sentence a judge has imposed.

The Inquirer reported Murphy said the men carjacked one man twice and shot him in the same leg both times, and that the penalties needed to be significant because the harm will last for years. It reported he said, "The whole scheme together speaks to a real disregard for our fellow man," and then, "and trying to live together in a civilized way." The life terms, the 35-year term, and the 86-year term are the sentences the paper reported for the five men who were sentenced this week. Akubu and the two unnamed defendants are not in that group. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.