United States Attorney Jacqueline Romero announced that Amir Harvey, 24, entered a plea of guilty today in front of U.S. District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond tor Hobbs Act robbery, carjacking and felon in possession of ammunition, in connection with the robbery of a commercial business and a carjacking, both in the Northeast.
Harvey was arrested and charged in September 2022.
On Sept. 9, 2022, at about 11 p.m., the defendant and three others approached the Hook and Reel restaurant, 9763 Roosevelt Blvd. Upon encountering an employee of the restaurant outside, Harvey and the others forced him inside, ransacked the office, stole about $400 from the cash drawers and fled.
In the early-morning hours of Sept. 19, 2022, Philadelphia police officers responded to a report of a robbery in progress on the 8900 block of Maxwell Place in the Holme Circle area, where the victim reported that her car had just been stolen by an armed individual as she and her teenage daughter were about to leave for school.
The victim stated that around 6:15 a.m., she started her vehicle using an application on her cell phone. A short time later, she and her daughter exited their house and walked to the car parked in the front driveway, when they were approached by an armed individual, later identified as the defendant, who pointed a firearm, later found to be a replica, at their heads.
The defendant grabbed the victim’s keys and purse and sped away in her vehicle. The victim then used its location tracking feature on her cell phone app and informed police, who responded to that location on the 2000 block of Griffith Street, about 2½ miles from the victim’s home. Using neighborhood video surveillance footage, investigators traced the movement of the victim’s vehicle and the defendant to a nearby apartment complex.
“Amir Harvey ambushed a worker just trying to wrap up his shift, and a mom and daughter looking to start their day,” Romero said. “Robbing innocent people at gunpoint, even if the gun’s not real, is no game. It’s a serious crime — and an excellent way to earn an extended stay in federal prison. My office and our partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force will continue to make Philly safer, as we lock up violent criminals with regard for neither the law nor other people.” ••
