Ronald Byrd, 37, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for his involvement in the armed carjacking of a FedEx truck and other related offenses in Philadelphia. The sentence was issued today by United States District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer. After completing his prison term, Byrd will be subject to 10 years of supervised release. His co-defendant, Saikeen Dixon, was sentenced last month to slightly more than 12 years in prison.
Details of Byrd’s offenses include an incident on August 9, 2022, involving a FedEx Express driver. On that day, a package was sent from a consultancy in California to an address associated with Temple Hospital. The driver, who had received multiple contacts from a former FedEx employee, was offered a bribe for the package but declined and reported the attempt to supervisors. Later that day, Byrd committed a carjacking while armed with a black semi-automatic pistol.
The investigation following the incident uncovered additional offenses. When authorities recovered the FedEx package, a trained narcotics K9 detected the presence of cocaine. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the package contained nine individually wrapped parcels labeled “DSQUARED2,” each weighing approximately one kilogram and testing positive for cocaine. The total weight of the cocaine was approximately 9.005 kilograms, with an estimated street value of $500,000.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf stated that Byrd acquired the cocaine shipment by carjacking a FedEx truck while armed. At the time, Byrd was serving a period of supervised release for a prior federal drug conviction. Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia, noted that the case involved coordination between federal and local law enforcement. The investigation and arrest of Byrd involved the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and local authorities.
The investigation of Byrd was carried out by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force in collaboration with the Philadelphia Police Department. The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation also provided support, while Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Bowerman oversaw the prosecution. This multi-agency effort led to Byrd’s conviction and sentencing.
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