Kelvin Jimenez, 35, was sentenced to life in federal prison, plus a mandatory additional 30 years, for leading SG1700, a Frankford drug gang whose members fatally shot Philadelphia SWAT Cpl. James O'Connor IV inside an apartment building in 2020. Jimenez was not accused of participating in, or even being present for, O'Connor's killing, but prosecutors said he was the gang's top decision-maker during a run of violence that included four murders and 13 shootings.
U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sánchez handed down the sentence, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Jimenez was sentenced for leading SG1700. Federal prosecutors had charged him with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes based on the broader pattern of offenses committed by SG1700 members.
Jimenez's Role in O'Connor Killing
O'Connor, 46, was fatally shot on the 1600 block of Bridge Street on March 13, 2020, after SWAT officers went there to arrest Hassan Elliott, who was wanted on a murder warrant in the 2019 killing of Tyrone Tyree. Elliott shot O'Connor through a door with a .22-caliber rifle as officers tried to apprehend him, and Elliott and Khalif Sears were both arrested at the scene and charged with O'Connor's murder. Jimenez's alleged role was different: his case centered on alleged gang leadership, not direct participation in the shooting.
A jury convicted Jimenez and co-defendant Dominique Parker last year, 2025, after the two stood trial together, per the same Inquirer report. Parker, also found guilty at trial of serving as a group leader within SG1700, now faces a mandatory life sentence of his own. Jimenez was the second SG1700 member sentenced in the case, with two others still awaiting sentencing.
Other Gang Members Face Starkly Different Outcomes
Elliott, who shot O'Connor through an apartment wall while trying to avoid arrest, was sentenced to 75 years in prison after pleading guilty before Sánchez last year, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
In addition to O'Connor's murder, the men were charged with killing Kaseem Rogers in 2018, and Tyree and Dontae Walker in 2019, the Inquirer reported. Prosecutors said two of those murders targeted rival gang members, while Tyree's killing was described as a botched robbery. The case later expanded in 2023.
Case Traces Back to a 2023 Expansion
The prosecution grew out of a 2023 move by then-U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, who announced an expanded racketeering case against Jimenez, Elliott, Sears, and Parker, building on earlier charges in the case. Former U.S. Attorney William McSwain had previously criticized District Attorney Larry Krasner for dropping a drug case against Elliott, and Krasner defended his office's actions, per the Inquirer's reporting. All four men have now been convicted in the expanded racketeering case: Elliott received 75 years, Jimenez was sentenced to life plus 30 years, and Parker faces a mandatory life sentence.
