20-year-old man convicted of attempted carjacking in Northeast Philadelphia

District Attorney Larry Krasner has announced the arrest of a 20-year-old who was convicted of attempting to carjack a teenage girl in Northeast Philadelphia.

Deandrade Jeferson was charged with Robbery, Conspiracy, Possession of an Instrument of Crime, and VUFA 6106 for his role in an attempted carjacking that occurred in 2022.

According to Krasner, Jeferson and two co-conspirators, who are still unknown, approached a teenage girl’s vehicle in Northeast Philadelphia on February 27, 2022, while she was double-parked outside of a residence, and tapped a gun against the driver’s side window and shot his gun on the bottom of the car door.

The teenage girl told police that this all happened as she was driving home from a Valentine’s Day event at her local church. Two other female teens were in the vehicle.

The teenage girl driver was able to flee the scene in her car and thankfully no one was injured.

Jefferson was later arrested in June 2022.

Investigators believe that Jeferson and his co-conspirators were the leading cause behind a number of other carjacking incidents in 2022.

Police also say they were targeting people of Brazilian descent due to the possibility that victims may be undocumented.

Thanks to testimony from the victims and forensic evidence, which included a sizable handprint left on the driver’s side window, a guilty verdict was secured.

“I applaud the skillful prosecution of this case by Assistant District Attorney Kenzie Johnson,” said DA Krasner.

“Sadly, this case is emblematic of the fact that undocumented people in our city tend to be preyed upon by criminals who take advantage of victims’ fear of law enforcement. While the victim in this case does have U.S. citizenship, this is not always so in these cases. I want all immigrant communities to know that we want to hear from you if you’ve been the victim of a crime. You should not have to live in fear.”

“I’m grateful for the excellent investigation conducted by the Philadelphia Police Department,” said ADA Johnson.

“Thanks to the collection of powerful forensic evidence, an anonymous tip in the form of surveillance video, and brave testimony from the survivor of this incident, a Philadelphia jury was able to deliver justice and hold Mr. Jeferson accountable for his crimes.”

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