Author: Robert Moran

A former Philadelphia correctional officer was sentenced Tuesday to 42 months in federal prison for repeatedly pepper-spraying inmates and falsifying records about the incidents, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said Tuesday.

Christopher Knight, 48, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in March to five counts of depriving individuals of their civil rights under color of law and two counts of falsifying records, Metcalf said.

U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond also sentenced Knight to one year of supervised release after he serves his prison term.

While a sergeant at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Knight pepper-sprayed five subdued victims, prosecutors said.

Knight admitted that he sprayed his first victim in January 2023 while the inmate was lying face down on the ground with his hands behind his back, prosecutors said. Knight also struck the inmate during and after the inmate was being handcuffed.

Two days later, Knight sprayed two more inmates in separate incidents.

He sprayed a fourth inmate in March 2023 while the inmate was writing on a piece of paper and not posing a threat, prosecutors said. Knight continued to spray the inmate while he was lying on the ground and in pain.

Later that month, Knight attacked a fifth inmate, spraying the victim while he was lying on the ground face down, prosecutors said.

Knight falsified multiple use-of-force reports and knowingly omitted key details about his own actions, prosecutors said.

“Correctional officers have significant authority over the inmates in their charge and it’s their duty to wield that power responsibly,” Metcalf said in a statement.

“If they fail to meet this standard, and violate prisoners’ civil rights, as Christopher Knight did, they will be prosecuted and held accountable.”

A woman was killed when she tried to enter a neighbor’s apartment and was shot through the door by a woman inside the unit early Tuesday in North Philadelphia, police said.

Around 3:10 a.m., the woman, described only as in her 50s or 60s, was trying to enter a key code to an apartment in a complex on the 1500 block of West Girard Avenue when she was shot at least one time in the chest, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

The shot was fired through a door that did not have a peep hole or other way to see outside, Small said.

Police had been called to the scene initially for a report of a break-in, Small said. An officer arriving to the apartment complex heard at least one gunshot and found the victim unresponsive in the hallway.

Police transported the victim to Temple University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3:30 a.m., Small said.

The alleged shooter, described as 56 years old, remained at the scene and was taken for questioning by homicide detectives, Small said.

“She did cooperate with police,” Small said, adding that a gun inside her apartment was taken as evidence.

A security guard told police he saw the woman trying to enter a code for the door and questioned her, then proceeded with his duties elsewhere, Small said.

It was not immediately known if the two women knew each other or had any type of prior interaction, Small said.

The victim’s unit was across the hallway from where she was shot, Small said.

Masked thieves stole half a pallet of Black Angus beef ribs from a tractor-trailer overnight in the Food Distribution Center area of South Philadelphia, police said.

The heist occurred around 1 a.m. Tuesday when four men approached a 2026 Freightliner on the 3300 block of South Third Street and cut the hinges from the rear door of the unattended trailer, police said.

The thieves then loaded the beef ribs into the rear of a dark-colored Ford F-150 and fled south on Third Street in the Ford, which was accompanied by an unknown make and model of Jeep, police said.

No arrests were reported.

In recent years, large cargo thefts have increased in frequency around the Philadelphia region.

In June, Salahudin Reddy, also known as “Dean” and “Deen,” 39, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison.

Reddy pleaded guilty to cargo thefts in 2023 that had a total estimated value of more than $1.5 million.

He admitted to participating in heists that made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of frozen crab legs and more than $360,000 worth of Samsung TVs.

He also admitted to his involvement in a widely reported theft of more than $230,000 in dimes.

Police on Monday said a 32-year-old man is wanted in connection with an armed robbery in Center City in which he allegedly was seen on surveillance video menacing the victim with an AR-15-style rifle.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Shakur Nichols, who police said was one of two masked men recorded on video robbing a man at gunpoint on the 1200 block of Sansom Street shortly after 2:20 a.m. Aug. 28. The victim was not injured.

Police were still trying to identify the second assailant in the video, which was posted by police on YouTube. The second man was armed with a handgun.

Anyone with information on where to find or Nichols or who knows the identity of the second suspect can contact police through 911, by calling Central Detectives at 215-686-3093 or -3094, or by submitting an anonymous tip at 215-686-TIPS (8477).

The two suspects robbed their victim after exiting a dark gray Nissan Altima, police said. They took the victim’s jewelry and watch and returned to the Altima, which was last seen heading north on 13th Street.

Both men were wearing black face masks and were dressed in all black, police said.

Police said Nichols may have been involved in other gunpoint robberies in Center City, NBC10 reported.

On Aug. 23 around 3 a.m., three men were outside talking on the 1500 block of Locust Street when three assailants stepped out of a gray Hyundai sedan and demanded the men’s belongings, police said last month.

Two men complied, but a third resisted and was struck in the face with a handgun, police said.

The robbers tool cell phones, watches, car keys, wallets, driver’s licenses, and cash, police said.

Surveillance video showed one of the victims on his knees on the sidewalk as two of the robbers pointed guns — including what appeared to be an assault rifle — at his head, police said.

A total of four men, including a getaway driver in the Hyundai, were involved in that robbery, police said.

The Hyundai had been stolen from Cheltenham Township and was located shortly after the robbery, police said.

Philadelphia police responding to a reported shooting found a teen fatally wounded inside a mini-market Monday night in the Summerdale section of the Lower Northeast.

Around 8:45 p.m., 2nd District police found the 18-year-old lying unresponsive in the customer takeout area of the store at the corner of Marcella Street and Summerdale Avenue, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

The victim, who was described by store employees as a regular customer, was transported by police to Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:59 p.m.

Police found one spent shell casing next to the man’s body inside the store, and at least 25 outside on the sidewalk and on Summerdale Avenue, Small said.

Stray bullets pierced two separate second-floor windows of nearby residences.

“Although the occupants were very shaken up, nobody was struck,” Small said.

Also nearby, police found a Nissan sedan that had hit several parked cars. The two driver-side doors were open and the engine was still running, Small said.

The car, which was considered part of the crime scene, did not have bullet holes, Small said.