A 21-year-old Philadelphia man that state prosecutors tie to the so-called Backblock gang has now been charged in his third homicide case, this one in a 2023 North Philadelphia killing. Authorities say Richard Pridgen was indicted Wednesday on murder and related counts in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old George Smith, even as Pridgen is already serving a federal prison sentence after a conviction last year on two carjackings.
Charges and evidence
A grand jury returned an indictment charging Pridgen with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery of a motor vehicle and violations of the Uniform Firearms Act, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Prosecutors say the case centers on the April 22, 2023 killing of Smith on the 2400 block of North 17th Street, where video evidence allegedly shows a gunman firing multiple rounds into Smith’s body at close range.
The indictment follows what officials describe as a multi-agency probe targeting a North Philadelphia street group they refer to as the Backblock gang. Investigators say Pridgen is among several alleged members linked to violent crimes during 2023.
How investigators say it unfolded
According to investigators, the vehicle used in the ambush had been taken at gunpoint the day before near East Monmouth Street. Surveillance footage captured two people jumping out of that car and approaching Smith shortly before the shooting, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
One of the men, identified by investigators as Pridgen, is seen on the footage standing over Smith and continuing to fire, authorities allege. Prosecutors say the shooter then ran back and fled in another vehicle that was being driven by a third person.
Federal sentence for carjackings
Separate from the homicide cases, Pridgen pleaded guilty in federal court last year to two armed carjackings that occurred days apart in July 2023 and was sentenced on Feb. 5, 2026 to 214 months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said.
Court filings describe those July incidents as at-gunpoint thefts of parked vehicles that ended with a police pursuit and arrests. Because of those federal convictions, Pridgen is already serving a lengthy sentence while Pennsylvania prosecutors move ahead with the homicide charges.
Officials respond
Top law enforcement officials did not mince words about the allegations. “There are public dangers, and then there is Richard Pridgen, for whom killing, stealing, and harming people is a way of life,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in the office’s Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General news release.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said Smith’s family “deserves justice,” according to the same statement. The release credited forensic work by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and coordination among local, state and federal agencies that led to the grand jury recommendation.
Legal status and next steps
Pridgen has pleaded not guilty in two earlier murder cases tied to separate 2023 shootings, and a spokesperson for the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which is representing him, declined to comment, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Following the grand jury’s latest recommendation, local prosecutors filed state charges and the case will now move through the Pennsylvania courts. Officials emphasized that the charges are allegations and that Pridgen remains presumed innocent unless and until he is convicted.
Authorities said the indictment capped months of investigative work and interagency cooperation. No court dates were immediately made public, and prosecutors say they expect to keep pursuing additional leads as the broader probe continues.
