A 21-year-old Philadelphia man will spend the next nine and a half years in federal prison for a gunpoint carjacking that unfolded before dawn in Southwest Philadelphia, ambushing a driver as he parked his car and setting off a police chase that ended when the stolen vehicle slammed into a residential porch. Nasir Warlow was sentenced to 114 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in the September 3, 2024 attack on the 6700 block of Woodland Avenue.
According to MyChesCo, the victim was parking a silver 2017 Nissan Sentra at around 5:08 a.m. when Warlow and two accomplices, all dressed in black and wearing masks, closed in on the car. Per the U.S. Department of Justice, Warlow approached the driver's side of the vehicle while his two accomplices came at it from the passenger side, pointing a firearm at the victim and ordering him out of the car before the trio climbed in and fled north on 68th Street.
Philadelphia police spotted the stolen Nissan near Cobbs Creek Parkway and Baltimore Avenue shortly after the carjacking and began a pursuit, the outlet's report notes. That chase ended when Warlow crashed the Sentra into the front porch of a residence on the 300 block of Horton Street, causing significant damage to both the home and the vehicle. Hoodline's original coverage of the crash reported that the pursuit spanned several miles before the vehicle came to rest against the unoccupied home.
From Indictment to Guilty Plea
A federal grand jury indicted Warlow in March 2025, approximately 11 months before he pleaded guilty on February 27, 2026, to one count of carjacking and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case alongside the Philadelphia Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Urban prosecuted it, with the sentencing handed down by Judge Joel H. Slomsky and reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
It remains unclear who Warlow's two masked accomplices were, since they were not named in federal sentencing announcements. The judgment's treatment of restitution for damage to the Horton Street home was not reported.
Why the Sentence Ran Long
Warlow's nearly decade-long sentence followed his guilty pleas to one count of carjacking and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. A legal explainer published by EveryCRSReport discusses federal mandatory minimums generally. Warlow pleaded guilty and received a lengthy prison term.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has stated that defendants sentenced for armed carjacking in the district typically receive between seven and 15 years in federal prison, meaning Warlow's term falls within that established range. The case resulted in a federal sentence rather than a state conviction.
Federal Prosecution
Warlow's case was prosecuted federally. The Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force has also been mentioned in connection with carjacking cases.
The article places the case in the broader context of carjackings and arrests in Philadelphia. It also discusses the city's response to carjacking.
The article also discusses broader violent crime across the city. Warlow's case joins a string of recent federal carjacking sentences in the region, including a Philadelphia man sentenced to over 17 years earlier this year for a series of armed carjackings and another sentenced to 12 years last year for a separate gunpoint carjacking.
