Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 17½ Years in Prison for Violent Home Invasion Robberies Targeting Business Owners and Employees

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Ali Chandler, 30, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 210 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $60,000 in restitution by United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez for two violent home invasion robberies targeting business owners and employees.

Chandler and co-defendant Abdullah Hartage were charged by superseding indictment in October 2022. Both pleaded guilty in October 2024 to conspiracy to commit robbery which interferes with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery) and two counts of committing or threatening physical violence in furtherance of a plan or purpose to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery. Hartage was sentenced in January to 18 years in prison.

As detailed in court filings and statements, on November 13, 2021, Chandler, Hartage, and others met at their intended victims' area business and waited outside until closing time, when the owners and their adult daughter left. The robbers, who had conducted prior surveillance to determine where the family lived, then drove to the residence, arriving before the victims.

When the victims opened their garage and parked inside, the four perpetrators, armed with handguns, stormed in. One of the gunmen struck the 61-year-old male victim several times in the head, causing injuries, and forced him to the ground. Another gunman forced the business owners' daughter to the ground at gunpoint, and yet another perpetrator forced the 65-year-old female victim from the garage into the home at gunpoint, striking her several times in the head and causing injuries. After the home's security alarm sounded, the perpetrators fled, taking the daughter's backpack, which contained her credit/debit cards and ID.

In the next robbery, committed on December 4, 2021, Chandler, Hartage, and others targeted an employee of an area store. They had spent weeks casing the store, following the victim home and identifying her house. On the night of the robbery, the perpetrators again arrived ahead of the victim. Within minutes of the victim arriving home, three armed men broke in, one telling her "I know where you work."

The 68-year-old victim was zip-tied to a chair and pistol whipped in the face, causing head injuries, including a gash requiring stitches and a concussion. The perpetrators made off with a safe containing cash, coins, and jewelry.

This case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia's Newtown Square Resident Agency, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Montgomery Township Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Doherty.