U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced that Tyheem Tyler, 34, formerly of Philadelphia, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death and aiding and abetting in relation to two 2023 incidents in Summerdale.
The indictment alleges that on or about March 6, 2023, the defendant robbed Wey Um at gunpoint outside Oxford Tavern, on the 5900 block of Oxford Ave.
The indictment further alleges that in the early hours of March 31, 2023, Tyler and his co-conspirators drove a Ford Explorer SUV to Um’s neighborhood, kidnapped him outside on the 900 block of E. Godfrey Ave., between Summerdale Avenue and Loretto Avenue, and, at about 2:12 a.m., drove him in the Explorer to a location near the Delaware River.
Um, who was 48 at the time of the kidnapping, has been missing ever since.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment or death.
The case was investigated by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Everett Witherell and Timothy Lanni. ••
