Phillis Fugah, 25, of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Mar. 11 to ten years and one day in prison and five years of supervised release for her role in a carjacking and shooting incident, according to United States Attorney David Metcalf.
The sentencing follows Fugah’s guilty plea to charges of carjacking and using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during a violent crime related to an armed carjacking that took place on August 29, 2024 in Upper Darby.
According to court filings and admissions by Fugah, she and a male accomplice approached a Honda Pilot parked on the 7100 block of West Chester Pike. The vehicle was occupied by a man and his two young children as they waited for the man’s wife. The accomplice opened the passenger-side door but fled the scene shortly after. Fugah then entered the driver’s side, pointed a gun at the victim while demanding money, prompting the victim’s five-year-old son to escape from the vehicle.
As the victim tried to intervene—alerting Fugah that his infant child remained inside—the situation escalated. During their struggle, Fugah fired her weapon at the victim. The bullet shattered part of the driver’s-side window and struck the victim’s baseball cap without causing injury. A fragment from this shot also hit an occupied SEPTA bus across the street but did not injure any passengers.
Fugah then drove away in the stolen SUV with the infant still inside. Authorities later found both the vehicle and child unharmed nearby.
The case was investigated by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Newtown Square Resident Agency along with officers from Upper Darby Township Police Department. Prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Doherty and Special Assistant United States Attorney Sandra Urban.
