City Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Violent Carjacking in Northeast Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Brian Amerman, aka "BD" and "Fat," 21, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 144 months' imprisonment, five years of supervised release, and $2,500 in restitution by United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro for his role in a violent armed carjacking in Northeast Philadelphia.

The defendant was charged by indictment in February 2024 and pleaded guilty in April of this year to one count of carjacking and aiding and abetting, and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting.

As detailed in court filings, shortly before 1 a.m. on May 12, 2023, Victim 1 parked their Nissan Murano next to a standalone ATM in the parking lot of a shopping plaza located in the 6500 block of Roosevelt Boulevard. Victim 1 got out of the car and began using the ATM. As Victim 1 did so, Amerman and a second individual got out of a nearby car and approached Victim 1.

Amerman, armed with a black and tan semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine, shoved the gun in Victim 1's face and then hit Victim 1 in the head with the gun. Amerman and the second individual demanded Victim 1's car keys, and Victim 1 provided their keys and wallet to the carjackers. The second individual drove away in Victim 1's Nissan Murano. Amerman returned to the vehicle that he had come from and he and the driver fled the scene.

Just over an hour later, Amerman and two other individuals in a grey Honda Accord arrived at a BP gas station in Oxford Circle, Pa., approximately 1.2 miles away from the ATM referenced above. Amerman and the driver entered the gas station, where charges attempted on Victim 1's bank card were declined twice. Nine days later, on May 21, 2023, Philadelphia police recovered the license plate from Victim 1's Nissan Murano inside the trunk of a crashed grey Honda Accord that appeared consistent with the Honda Accord observed at the BP station.

Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Amerman's Instagram account, which contained photos and videos of himself, including a photo from the day before the carjacking of Amerman posing with a black and tan semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine, consistent with the one used during the carjacking, and a video of him the day after the carjacking pointing a black and tan semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine at the camera, also consistent with the one used during the carjacking. The account also contained photos and videos of himself close in time to the carjacking wearing clothing consistent with what he wore when he committed the crime.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Meghan A. Farley and Assistant United States Attorney Priya T. De Souza.

Note: the posting of this press release was delayed, due to the federal government shutdown from October 1, 2025, to November 12, 2025.