A Philadelphia man with a prior felony conviction has once again found himself entangled with the law after a May encounter with police officers led to his arrest and subsequent charges for firearm possession. According to an official press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, 32-year-old Nafiysh Knox-Schenck was indicted for possessing a loaded firearm during an arrest that went awry due to an outstanding warrant.
On May 13, Knox-Schenck, resisting arrest, managed to extricate a loaded gun from his waistband in the midst of grappling with officers and threw it onto the street, before someone else discarded it into nearby woods. Despite finally being handcuffed and placed in the police vehicle, an opportunistic moment saw Knox-Schenck briefly slipping from police custody when someone unknown opened the vehicle's door. Assistance from the United States Marshals Service led to his re-arrest on May 15. His indictment details how the arrest unfolded, pointing to a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a hefty fine, supervised release, and an additional special assessment if convicted, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort aiming to curb violent crime and improve safety through multi-agency cooperation, is a key framework under which this case falls. Announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office on May 26, 2021, Project Safe Neighborhood's revitalized strategy highlights community trust building, supporting preventive community-based organizations, and ensuring enforcement priorities are strategically aligned and their impacts routinely measured.
Both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the Philadelphia Police Department conducted the investigation leading to Knox-Schenck's indictment, which will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Eckert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Tracie J. Gaydos of the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. As formal charges are now laid before Knox-Schenck, it remains a cornerstone of American legal principles that he, alike to anyone accused, reserves the presumption of innocence until proven guilty – a notion that the courts will now navigate in his forthcoming trials.
