District Attorney Krasner Announces Arrests Following Gun Violence Task Force Investigation

CONTACT:
Jane Roh, 215–686–8711, Jane.Roh@phila.gov

PHILADELPHIA (March 1, 2021) — District Attorney Larry Krasner and Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) assigned to the Gun Violence Task Force (GVTF) announced on Monday the arrests of members of armed rival groups in West and Southwest Philadelphia allegedly responsible for a series of retaliatory shootings that took place over 2018 and 2019.

The 30th Philadelphia County Investigating Grand Jury issued a presentment concluding these individuals were responsible for the following shooting incidents:

• Devin Brian/aka Devin Bryant (DOB: 4/1/1998) for the 4/10/2018 Non-Fatal Shooting of a 19-year-old.
• Dashawn Packer (DOB: 9/24/2000) for his role in the 7/31/2018 discharge of a firearm into a residential structure. Three individuals were in the house at the time; no one was injured.
• Dashawn Packer for his role in the 8/1/2018 Non-Fatal Shooting of a 22-year-old.
• Dashawn Packer and Xavier Veney (DOB: 12/30/1998) for their roles in the 8/30/2018 Non-Fatal Shootings of two people, ages 19 and 21.
• Dashawn Packer for the 11/24/2018 Non-Fatal Shooting of a 21-year-old.
• Dashawn Packer for the 11/25/2018 Non-Fatal Shootings of three individuals, ages 8, 15, and 16.
• Xavier Veney and Sabir Scott (DOB: 3/22/1996) for the 7/30/2019 Non-Fatal Shooting of a 54-year-old.

Brian and Scott were arrested by Philadelphia Police last month and are each being held in custody on $1 million bail. Packer is in state custody serving a sentence for a prior conviction, and Veney is in federal custody awaiting trial on a different case. Both are awaiting transport and arraignment in Philadelphia County.

The investigation was led by ADAs Brian Burke and Jeff Palmer and conducted with Philadelphia Police. They identified the four defendants as members of rival groups involved in serial retaliatory shootings in West and Southwest Philadelphia. The groups refer to themselves as Northside; Southside; 02da4; 61st & Jefferson, aka Hilltop, aka Fixers; and 66th & Lansdowne, which is closely affiliated with 61st & Jefferson. The Investigating Grand Jury concluded that group members engaged in back-and-forth provocations using online platforms and social media apps, including Instagram, that culminated in shootings.

The 8-year-old and 54-year-old shooting survivors were bystanders who had no affiliation with these violent, rival groups.

“Thanks to tireless investigative work by ADAs in the Gun Violence Task Force and our partners in the Philadelphia Police, four individuals responsible for serial shootings in our communities are off the streets, and will be held accountable by the criminal justice system. We should be outraged that petty rivalries are endangering Philadelphians, who deserve to live their lives without daily fear of gun violence. Every one of these victims, even members of these groups, should not have been shot and made to endure life-long trauma,” District Attorney Krasner said. “Policing and prosecution have their part. But they cannot prevent gun violence without addressing the structural issues that drive it. We need partners across government, private and nonprofit sectors, and communities to work together on prevention. I call on our government and community partners to support a public-private initiative funded by business, our great academic institutions, and government in the amount of $100 million to bring needed structural change and prevention.”

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said: “The members of the Philadelphia Police Department are committed to providing a safe environment for all Philadelphians. The work of our police officers and detectives highlights that putting up a good case takes not only a concerted and purposeful effort, but also unwavering persistence. These cases speak to the importance of constant communication across different units within our department as well as with our partner agencies.”

Joining District Attorney Krasner and Police Commissioner Outlaw to announce details of the GTVF investigation were PA House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton (191st Legislative District), PA Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Curtis Jones, Jr. (4th District), Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd Council District), and anti-violence community and faith leaders from the area.

“The continued rise in gun violence in my neighborhood and ones similar to it throughout the city is beyond troubling. When I helped to establish the Joint Local-State Gun Task Force in the legislature, it was so that information- and resource-sharing would lead to arrests like these,” Sen. Williams said. “As I stand here today, my promise to residents of Philadelphia is that I will continue fighting in Harrisburg for additional community-based resources that directly combat the violence epidemic that has long afflicted our neighborhoods.”

“Gun violence has long been a problem in our city and the number of incidents has risen in the last year with tragic consequences,” PA House Minority Leader McClinton said. “We cannot allow this pandemic to continue to exacerbate gun violence. Today’s announcement shows that the District Attorney’s Office and Philadelphia Police Department are working together to identify perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

“We know that a small number of individuals are responsible for a large number of the shootings on our streets — and that’s reflected by the arrests that the District Attorney’s Office announced today. It’s crucial that we continue to increase our clearance rates and bring justice to our communities, but enforcement is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to addressing Philadelphia’s gun violence crisis,” said Councilmember Gauthier, who represents communities in which these shootings occurred. “Prevention and intervention efforts are just as critical. I look forward to continuing to work with District Attorney Krasner and stakeholders across our city to end this epidemic and bring peace to neighborhoods across our city.”

Detectives and police officers recovered cell phones, obtained social media and phone records, interviewed witnesses, and reviewed ballistic evidence and videos collected from crime scenes in 2018 and 2019. Information gathered from this evidence and witnesses enabled them to identify individuals responsible for some of the shootings related to this group violence.

Ballistic evidence including fired cartridge casings (FCCs) were recovered from various crime scenes and analyzed by the Firearms Identification Unit (FIU) and the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN), which is administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

District Attorney Krasner repeated his call for the City of Philadelphia to double down on forensics capabilities in order to resolve more shooting cases and prevent more retaliatory shootings.

“Cities face unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hampered law enforcement and reduced preventative activity,” District Attorney Krasner said. “Add to that real threats of retaliatory violence, as is common in armed group rivalries, and it is clear that we must more actively embrace cutting-edge forensics to prevent and solve crime. I look forward to working collaboratively with our partners in law enforcement and government to ensure Philadelphia’s public safety infrastructure uses the most advanced science available as cities across the country grapple with similar gun violence crises.”

All defendants face VUFA charges. DaShawn Packer will additionally be charged with four counts of Criminal Attempt — Murder, five counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of Criminal Conspiracy, six counts of Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Discharge of a Firearm into an Occupied Structure, and related offenses. Devin Brian/aka Devin Bryant will additionally be charged with Criminal Attempt — Murder; Aggravated Assault, and related offenses. Xavier Veney will additionally be charged with three counts of Criminal Attempt — Murder, three counts of Aggravated Assault, three counts of Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Criminal Conspiracy, and related offenses. Sabir Scott will additionally be charged with Criminal Attempt — Murder, Criminal Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, and related offenses.

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The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the nation. It serves the more than 1.5 million residents of the City and County of Philadelphia, employing 600 lawyers, detectives, and support staff. The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for prosecution of approximately 40,000 criminal cases annually.