Last of 6 People Charged in Scheme to Remove or Destroy Evidence Left in Impounded Vehicle Has Been Arrested (DOJ)

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced the arrest of the last of six defendants charged in connection with a scheme to remove or destroy evidence from a vehicle impounded by the Pennsylvania State Police.

The six defendants - Tyree Goldsmith, 38, Kyle Smith, 41, Lamont Sparrow, 38, Latonya Upchurch, 57, and Taleah Goldsmith, 39, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Shafiq Taylor, 30, of Glenolden, Pa. - were charged by second superseding indictment, which was unsealed in August of last year, and all but Sparrow were arrested soon thereafter.

Last week, the U.S. Marshals Service located Sparrow and took him into custody. He made his initial appearance in federal court in Philadelphia before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski.

All six defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of tampering with objects or proceedings, and one count of destruction or removal of property to prevent search or seizure.

Tyree Goldsmith, Smith, Sparrow, and Taylor have also been charged with one count of malicious damage by means of fire to a vehicle used in interstate commerce.

In addition, Tyree Goldsmith, Taleah Goldsmith, and Upchurch have been charged with two counts of wire fraud, and Tyree Goldsmith with one count each of possession of a firearm by a felon and use of fire to commit a felony.

The indictment alleges that the defendants' conspiracy arose from a traffic stop that resulted in Tyree Goldsmith's vehicle being impounded.

As detailed in the indictment, on April 27, 2024, at approximately 3:29 a.m., members of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) conducted a traffic stop of Tyree Goldsmith while he was operating his Ford F-450 in Philadelphia. After observing marijuana and a scale in plain view inside the truck, PSP troopers advised Goldsmith that they would be requesting a tow truck and impounding his vehicle at the PSP barracks, pending a search warrant. The troopers further advised the defendant that criminal charges may be filed, depending on what they recovered from inside the F-450.

A short time later, the vehicle was towed to the PSP Philadelphia Barracks impound lot.

Early the same morning, PSP troopers obtained and executed a Philadelphia County search warrant for the Ford F-450, recovering a .40 Glock semiautomatic pistol loaded with 19 live rounds of ammunition, nine plastic bags containing marijuana, a digital scale, and $865 in U.S. currency.

The indictment alleges that, between approximately April 27, 2024, and April 29, 2024, the six defendants, and others, created and executed a plan to gain entry into the PSP Philadelphia Barracks impound lot, in order to remove the gun, marijuana, and other items from the Ford F-450. They allegedly did so at the behest of Tyree Goldsmith, who was on federal supervision and state parole, and sought to avoid being charged with additional crimes that would violate the conditions of his release.

After breaking into the impound lot and discovering that the firearm and drugs had already been removed from the Ford F-450, the indictment alleges, the defendants decided to set fire to the vehicle, believing that, if the truck were destroyed, PSP would not be able to use the recovered items as evidence against Tyree Goldsmith.

The indictment further alleges that Tyree Goldsmith purchased an insurance policy prior to the Ford F-450 being set on fire, and, after he, Smith, Sparrow, Taylor, and others ignited a blaze on April 29, 2024, that damaged the truck, he directed Upchurch and Taleah Goldsmith to file a fraudulent insurance claim for the vehicle.

This case is currently scheduled to go to trial in October.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Arena and Assistant United States Attorney Ashley N. Martin.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.