A man who pleaded guilty to carjacking a vehicle in Center City in 2024 has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Damon Bell, 32, of Philadelphia, also was handed three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $14,700 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Mia Roberts Perez.
In the early morning of April 15, 2024, Bell and three others approached a man sitting in his car at a parking lot at 13th and Vine streets, displayed guns and demanded the man hand over his keys, prosecutors said. When the man attempted to drive away, Bell and the others block his car.
After the man got out of the car, as ordered, Bell and the others repeatedly pistol-whipped on the head, prosecutors said. The man managed to escape on foot. Bell and his accomplice left the scene in two vehicles — the man's car and the one they were driving.
Bell was charged by indictment with one count of carjacking in October 2024 and pled guilty last July.