Darby man facing life sentence in federal gun case
PHILADELPHIA >> A Darby felon who fired a handgun into a Philadelphia house within 1,000 feet of a school in February was convicted in federal court this week on weapons possession charges.
Kareem Murphy, 36, was found guilty Tuesday of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possessing a firearm in a school zone following a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III.
Murphy, who is barred from owning a firearm due to a prior felony conviction, faces a maximum of life in prison at sentencing, set for Jan. 10.
The shooting took place Feb. 18 outside a home in the 2300 block of Morris Street, which is located near Delaplaine McDaniel Elementary School.
Philadelphia police officers responded to the location after an officer heard the sound of a gunshot, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
As law enforcement arrived, Murphy fired another shot from a Smith & Wesson 9mm Luger semi-automatic handgun through the door of the house then fled the scene.
No one was injured and Murphy was arrested in a nearby alley. Officers confiscated the weapon along with a bullet casing found outside the house and a spent cartridge still inside the firearm. The large-capacity magazine also contained 16 additional rounds of 9mm ammunition.
“The defendant fired a gun into a house and endangered everyone in the vicinity, even though he should never have had a gun in the first place because of his felony conviction,” said U.S. Attorney William McSwain in the release. “Making matters worse, his crimes occurred near an elementary school, where any one of the neighborhood’s young students could have been struck. We are very lucky that no one was injured and I am thankful that the jury held the defendant accountable for his actions.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as the Philadelphia Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Rue prosecuted. Murphy was represented by attorney Arnold C. Joseph, according to online court records.