A Camden man has pleaded guilty to a series of carjackings that took place last year in South Philadelphia, as announced by United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero. Zamer Williams, who is 19 and hails from New Jersey, appeared before Chief Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg and admitted to two counts of carjacking and one count of carrying, wielding, and flashing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
The incidents, as detailed in a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, unfolded in November of 2023. The first carjacking occurred when a Uber driver was accosted at an Ikea on Columbus Boulevard after stepping out of his Mazda CX-5. Another took place two days later when a woman confronted Williams as he seized her Ford Fusion SE from a Wawa parking lot, eventually causing her to let go of the vehicle after being dragged for several feet.
The plea entered by Williams includes a potential maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum of seven years. His sentencing is scheduled for March 25, 2025. This case falls under the banner of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence and fostering safer communities.
Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program relaunched in May 2021 with enhanced strategies, operates on principles like fostering community trust, supporting violence prevention organizations, and strategic law enforcement focus. Williams' case, investigated by both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Philadelphia Police Department, is spearheaded by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kwambina I. Coker and Robert E. Eckert.
