Lengthy sentence for Philly gang-related 2021 murder should send a message, DA says

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A 22-year-old man convicted in a 2021 gang-related murder in West Philadelphia now faces a sentence that could put him behind bars until he’s almost a senior citizen.

Arshad Curry was part of a group called the “Young Bag Chasers,” or YBC. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Curry killed Kailyn Johnson in West Philadelphia back in 2021.

After being sentenced to a maximum sentence of 42–85 years in prison, Krasner said at at a Monday morning news conference that the group has a new name: “‘You Been Charged,’ and the newer name is ‘You’ve Been Convicted.’”

Curry was convicted of three counts of third-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer during a chase that resulted in his arrest.

The first two killings happened on the afternoon of July 21, 2021, near 56th and Vine streets. Curry and a co-conspirator, Raheis Sherman, ambushed three teenagers, opening fire and killing 16-year-old Kailyn Johnson and 18-year-old Tommie Frazier. Another victim, 16-year-old Damon McNeil, was shot and seriously wounded in the attack. The three teens were not the intended targets.

The third murder happened Sept. 16, 2021, on the 2900 block of Weikel Street in Port Richmond. Curry and an unknown co-conspirator chased 19-year-old Sidney Sessoms into the Sessoms’ home before fatally shooting the teen in the chest.

Emily Johnson is mother of 16 year-old Kailyn Johnson. She said the verdict cannot bring back her only son.

“I’m numb, I don’t wish this on nobody,” Johnson said. “You played your hand, now you got to deal with it.”

Johnson said she lost her son and now another mother is going to lose her son to prison. “We literally lost a whole generation of the kids out here,” she said.

Curry was found under a van after he tried to escape capture after the shooting. The prosecution in the case used the murder weapon and a cell phone owned by Curry with relevant information downloaded to bolster their case.

Prosecutor Cydney Pope said the DA’s office hopes this conviction will send a message.

“Let this be a tale of what happens, you want to play like Arshad Curry, you’re going to spend the next 40 years in jail,” Pope said.

Krasner also spoke about how the city’s murder rate remains well below this time last year, with only 167 homicides so far in 2024.

“Philadelphia is getting better,” the DA said. “As many of you have seen in recent media coverage, as of a couple weeks ago, [Philly] was leading big cities in the United States in terms of improvements in public safety.”

He said that even one killing is too many, adding that his office and others have been working to offer alternatives to violence, especially through a program distributing micro-grants to groups that work in the community.