Shaquan Brown drops his pistol outside a home he attempted to rob. Photo released by Department of Justice.
I recall some years ago speaking to a Philadelphia detective about home invasions. He was part of a task force that was investigating the home invasions of several Asians families who owned and operated restaurants, laundromats and other small businesses in Philadelphia and the suburbs.
A gang of criminals followed the Asian owners to their homes after they closed their businesses. As the business owners settled in, the armed robbers broke in and tied up the family members. The husband and father was beaten until he told the home invaders where he kept his cash.
“Asian and other immigrant small businesspeople often don’t trust banks, and they like to keep their money close at hand,” the detective told me. “So they make an easy target for home invasions. These brutal armed crooks bust in and threaten the victims with torture and murder unless they give up their money.
“These criminal predators watch the businesses, find out where the owners live and then they strike. I’ve taken statements from the traumatized victims. A lot of the terrified victims, including children, believe the crooks will come back and rob them again. We have to take these armed home invaders off the street.”
One recent armed home invader was taken off the street and sentenced to prison last week.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced on November 21st that Shaquan Brown, 31, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe to 272 months’ incarceration for conspiracy to commit armed home invasion robberies targeting the businesses and attached residences of their owners, as well as robbery affecting interstate commerce and attempted robbery affecting interstate commerce, using and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of robbery, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Brown was charged with these crimes in August 2020, and he was convicted on April 16, 2024.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, from November 2019 through January 3, 2020, Brown and three co-conspirators conspired to carry out a series of robberies that targeted business owners and another individual that they believed would keep cash in their home. The offenders used zip ties, duct tape, and firearms to commit these crimes.
“Brown researched his victims and their businesses, using a GPS tracking device to learn where the victims lived. The defendant and his co-conspirators targeted victims they believed kept cash in their homes, including business owners who were Asian and other business owners who dealt in cash,” the prosecutors stated.
“On the night of December 31, 2019, Brown and two co-conspirators accosted the owner of a nail salon in Delaware County, Pa., as the owner returned to the business. The offenders forced the victim inside, and repeatedly demanded money, placing zip ties on the owner’s wrists, covering his mouth with duct tape, and striking his face with their fists and a gun. The men took cash from the business, then forced the owner to his residence, where they encountered his wife, their children, and their nanny.
“The men zip-tied the wife and all of their children, then continued to beat and injure the owner, and demand money. They ransacked the residence while making statements such as ‘we have been watching you for weeks.’”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also stated that on the morning of January 3, 2020, Brown and another individual attempted to break into a residence in Chester County, Pa. The defendant had planned to commit an armed home invasion robbery of the homeowner, who was a business owner, and his family, to steal the owner’s business proceeds. While attempting to enter the victim’s home, the home security alarm system went off, and the police responded within minutes. Brown led the police on a foot chase through the woods and into a creek, where he was arrested. The police recovered duct tape, zip ties, and a firearm from Brown’s backpack.
“What Shaquan Brown and his crew put their victims through was utterly horrifying,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf. “No one should have to endure a violent ambush in their home or business, be brutally beaten, and see their family traumatized. Today’s sentence ensures that Brown’s home invasion days are over. We will not permit criminals who’d rather take money than make it to terrorize innocent people and whole communities.”
Eric DeGree, the Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division, added “Shaquan Brown violently terrorized his victims in their business and in the sanctity of their home. He is now going to federal prison where he will no longer endanger his neighborhood. ATF Philadelphia Field Division has a long history of partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department and U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we will continue to work tirelessly together to ensure justice for the victims and to make our communities safer.”
