Perpetrator, 25, pled guilty to theft and gun violations
United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Nateirah Ortiz, 25, of Upper Darby, was sentenced this week to eight years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment by United States District Court Judge Chad F. Kenney, for one count of carjacking; one count of carrying and using a firearm during, and in relation to, the commission of a crime of violence; and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Ortiz was indicted on those violations in April of this year. She pleaded guilty in August, admitting to carjacking a man at approximately 7 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2024, in South Philadelphia. As part of her plea, the defendant also admitted to carrying and using a firearm to commit this offense.
According to the publicly filed documents in this case, the victim reported being carjacked on the 1100 block of Washington Avenue. He relayed that, while walking to his vehicle, a silver 2018 Toyota RAV4, the defendant demanded his car keys and pointed a gun at him. The victim complied, giving the defendant his key, and ran to a nearby business for assistance calling 911. The defendant entered the victim’s vehicle and fled the scene.
Information about the incident was soon broadcast via police radio citywide. At approximately 9:17 p.m., 24th District police officers on patrol observed the carjacked vehicle traveling on the 3100 block of Kensington Avenue and attempted to conduct a vehicle investigation. The officers stopped their vehicle in front of the RAV4 and another police unit stopped behind it. After waiting for the officers to get out of their car and approach her, Ortiz fled at a high rate of speed, nearly striking their police vehicle in the process. The officers immediately went over the air requesting assistance, and units in the area began searching for the carjacked vehicle.
As police officers drove down Richmond Street, they observed that a RAV4 fitting that description had crashed into several cars parked on the 3700 block of Richmond. The officers saw the defendant walking away from the scene and apprehended her, with police recovering a loaded handgun from underneath a parked van a few feet away.
